Tell Dear Media to Drop “The Toast” Podcast for Mocking Disabled People
Tell Dear Media to Drop “The Toast” Podcast for Mocking Disabled People
The Issue
We are Long COVID patient-advocates demanding that Dear Media stop hosting “The Toast” podcast.
In the February 14th episode of "The Toast," hosts Claudia and Jackie Oshry mocked those with Long COVID as "sick in the head” – as if the twenty million adults in the US living with the illness, many of whom are disabled by it – are faking their condition.
Jackie and Claudia's words are abhorrent, cruel, and dangerously misinformed.
Watch their full comments here.
Long COVID is a chronic disease state that can affect every organ in the body, impacting people of all ages and health backgrounds in ways that can be disabling and profoundly life-altering, and can reduce quality of life more than late stage cancers. It is a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Only 7 to 10 percent of patients fully recover after 2 years, and some manifestations of Long COVID such as heart disease and ME/CFS “are chronic conditions that may last a lifetime.”
There is a disastrous lack of public awareness on Long COVID: many don’t know that the risk of developing it increases with each infection. The hosts’ rhetoric recklessly misguides their listeners by dismissing the threat of repeat infections.
Minimizing long COVID patients as “sick in the head” perpetuates the stereotype that sick people are making up or exaggerating our symptoms. These stereotypes have disproportionately harmed women, who are more prone to chronic illness and being gaslit by medical providers.
Ironically, minutes before Claudia and Jackie’s comments, their sponsor Allara Health ran an ad promoting their company’s “non-judgmental care” for women with hard-to-diagnose conditions who struggle to feel seen by their doctors.
The Oshrys’ comments directly undermine women’s ability to have their health concerns taken seriously and access the care they need.
Today, the disability community is at legitimate risk of losing civil rights protections like the ADA. Over 70 million Americans report having a disability, and with the mass disabling event of Long COVID, this number has soared. Still, the disabled are one of the least represented groups in the media, which makes hate speech like the Oshrys’ even more damaging.
It is disgraceful for Dear Media to continue to amplify individuals who so shamelessly misrepresent and harm our community.
We ask Dear Media: stand against bigotry, bullying, and ableism by holding Claudia and Jackie Oshry accountable and dropping "The Toast" from your platform.
Please sign and share this petition. Sincerely,
Philip Hoover @philipandrewhoover
Elle Seibert @GotLongCOVID
Sophie Dimitriou Berlin Buyers Club
415
The Issue
We are Long COVID patient-advocates demanding that Dear Media stop hosting “The Toast” podcast.
In the February 14th episode of "The Toast," hosts Claudia and Jackie Oshry mocked those with Long COVID as "sick in the head” – as if the twenty million adults in the US living with the illness, many of whom are disabled by it – are faking their condition.
Jackie and Claudia's words are abhorrent, cruel, and dangerously misinformed.
Watch their full comments here.
Long COVID is a chronic disease state that can affect every organ in the body, impacting people of all ages and health backgrounds in ways that can be disabling and profoundly life-altering, and can reduce quality of life more than late stage cancers. It is a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Only 7 to 10 percent of patients fully recover after 2 years, and some manifestations of Long COVID such as heart disease and ME/CFS “are chronic conditions that may last a lifetime.”
There is a disastrous lack of public awareness on Long COVID: many don’t know that the risk of developing it increases with each infection. The hosts’ rhetoric recklessly misguides their listeners by dismissing the threat of repeat infections.
Minimizing long COVID patients as “sick in the head” perpetuates the stereotype that sick people are making up or exaggerating our symptoms. These stereotypes have disproportionately harmed women, who are more prone to chronic illness and being gaslit by medical providers.
Ironically, minutes before Claudia and Jackie’s comments, their sponsor Allara Health ran an ad promoting their company’s “non-judgmental care” for women with hard-to-diagnose conditions who struggle to feel seen by their doctors.
The Oshrys’ comments directly undermine women’s ability to have their health concerns taken seriously and access the care they need.
Today, the disability community is at legitimate risk of losing civil rights protections like the ADA. Over 70 million Americans report having a disability, and with the mass disabling event of Long COVID, this number has soared. Still, the disabled are one of the least represented groups in the media, which makes hate speech like the Oshrys’ even more damaging.
It is disgraceful for Dear Media to continue to amplify individuals who so shamelessly misrepresent and harm our community.
We ask Dear Media: stand against bigotry, bullying, and ableism by holding Claudia and Jackie Oshry accountable and dropping "The Toast" from your platform.
Please sign and share this petition. Sincerely,
Philip Hoover @philipandrewhoover
Elle Seibert @GotLongCOVID
Sophie Dimitriou Berlin Buyers Club
415
Supporter Voices
Petition created on March 19, 2025