It's a story that had many people buzzing over the long weekend: Bachelor producer Elan Gale live-tweeted a situation he supposedly experienced on an airplane on Thanksgiving. A woman — named "Diane," according to Gale, and dressed in "mom jeans and a studded belt" while "wearing a medical mask over her idiot face" — became abusive to crew members after the flight got delayed, as if she were the only one trying to get home for the holiday.
Gale (shown above) then claimed to antagonize Diane in a rapidly escalating war waged via passed notes. Gale's live tweets racked up thousands of retweets, while national media took note of the latest private interaction to go public thanks to Twitter. One major news outlet posted an article exploring whether Gale's interactions with Diane had been "casually sexist."
Just one problem: Gale made the entire thing up. He admitted it was all a hoax on Monday on — where else? — Twitter.
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If you want to relive Gale's entire banal, petty and fictitious beef, you can do that via this Storify. Here below are just a couple examples of the supposed hateful notes he and "Diane" exchanged, to give you a taste of the tale.
First Gale sent "Diane" this handwritten note with a glass of wine:
I sent the lady a glass of wine and a note pic.twitter.com/GttnmQI25P
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013
After he supposedly gave her some mini vodka bottles, too, "Diane" sent this note back:
From 7A pic.twitter.com/OEaCWw5mz3
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013
To which Gale replied:
My response to "Diane" in 7A pic.twitter.com/cRN2togLdq
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) November 28, 2013
Then, on Monday, Gale tweeted this shot (misspelling "Diane" as "Diana") to reveal the entire thing was fiction:
Here is Diana sitting in a chair pic.twitter.com/OE5q7j8dhr
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) December 3, 2013
After followers became predictably peeved at Gale for inventing the entire episode — which he also did for a fake blind date last year — the reality TV producer tried to use it as a teachable moment for media creators and consumers:
I conclude by saying hopefully a few people got a few laughs over a slow Thanksgiving weekend
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) December 3, 2013
Don't forget to tip your bloggers!
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) December 3, 2013
This is another tweet. I recommend not turning it into "news"
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) December 3, 2013
In the past, when your trusted news sources were wrong, they issued retractions. Now, they write cute editorials with a lot of spice!
— elan gale (@theyearofelan) December 3, 2013
One of the funniest tweets to come out of the affair — much ado about literally nothing — may have been this parody by comedian Elie Braden:
I sent the lady a glass of wine and a note pic.twitter.com/dJQ9QIhlUt
— Eli Braden (@EliBraden) December 3, 2013
Or, on a darker note, perhaps this:
While the world continues to dominate us in all areas, we here in America are very, very busy still discussing Diane.
— andy lassner (@andylassner) December 3, 2013
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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Image: Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images