(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A left-wing “reporter” came under fire Wednesday after attempting to contextualize one of the sexual abuse allegations against former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner by publishing a text message from one of his accusers.
Ryan Grim, co-host of the Breaking Points podcast and a “reporter” for Drop Site News, claimed on X and on his show that Platner accuser Jenny Racicot had texted Platner on the night of the alleged assault that she “needed her glute massaged.”
Grim criticized Politico, which first broke Racicot’s allegations, for not including the text message in its story, calling the omission a “shocking breach of journalistic ethics.”
Platner was a left-wing darling who sought to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. His candidacy got derailed following disturbing scandals.
Grim’s reporting appeared to be part of a last-minute effort to defend Platner before the candidate suspended his campaign just hours later.
NEW: Politico knew at the time of publication precisely what Jenny Racicot texted to Graham Platner but deliberately omitted it from their article. Racicot, according to the lead Politico reporter on the story, told Platner she “needed her glute massaged.” He told her he was… https://t.co/3b9sMZ0N2d
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) July 8, 2026
Critics slammed Grim, accusing him of reviving outdated victim-blaming arguments used to discredit abuse allegations.
“Was she also wearing a short skirt,” wrote former Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Journalist Jerusalem Demsas echoed Sinema’s sarcasm, asking Grim what Racicot was “wearing,” whether she “had any strange fetishes” and “how many sexual partners she’s had.”
Columnist Jill Filipovic condemned the reporting, writing, “This is really disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Washington Free Beacon’s Jon Levine added: “Shorter @ryangrim — ‘it’s not rape if you previously mentioned wanting a massage.’”
Amid the backlash, Drop Site News deleted an X post repeating Grim’s reporting after critics said the reporting attempted to downplay Racicot’s allegations.
“The language of our post left the impression that text messages by Platner’s accuser Jenny Racicot are relevant to whether she was raped or in any way justify the alleged assault she described,” the outlet wrote. “That was not the intention and is not the position of Drop Site or Ryan. We genuinely value the feedback and criticism we have received from many readers and have deleted the post.”
Yesterday our post on Politico’s reporting on the sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner was intended to summarize reporting Ryan Grim discussed on Breaking Points regarding details Politico omitted from its story. The language of our post left the impression that text…
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) July 9, 2026
Platner withdrew from the race after a string of controversies engulfed his campaign, including allegations of abusive behavior toward women, resurfaced Reddit posts downplaying sexual abuse and disparaging veterans, law enforcement officers, black Americans and rural Mainers.
More recently, the sexual abuse allegations from Racicot and former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield were the final blow to his campaign.
Democrats are now seeking a replacement candidate to run against Collins, though their changes of flipping that Senate seat were thrown into uncertainty following Platner’s collapse.
