that's ms. omarosa to you, donald

December 15, 2017 8:31 AM

Why does the media refer to Omarosa Manigault Newman by first name only? Even if that were her preference, it is inconsistent with media treatment of other fired White House staffers (and not AP style).
posted by headnsouth to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Wikipedia says she is frequently referred to mononymously (or by a single name only).
posted by arnicae at 8:38 AM on December 15, 2017

I think her "brand" is Omarosa by itself, so many people refer to her that way.
posted by praemunire at 8:49 AM on December 15, 2017 [11 favorites]

I think it's probably similar to Madonna or Prince...if someone goes by a single name as their professional identity, I think many media sources will respect that.
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:56 AM on December 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

It's because she was a character on a TV show.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:32 AM on December 15, 2017 [21 favorites]

I think because she was on a reality show where she was known only by her first name, as all the contestants were. I'm not saying sexism plays no role, as it does in so very many things, but because of the odd, stupid way she became famous, most people who knew who she was at all knew her by that name and didn't know her last name at all. And because the main point of that show was fame, people's presence on the show was something of a brand.
posted by Smearcase at 10:06 AM on December 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

Really, going by a single name as your identity is not that far removed from going by a nickname. Do we talk about Presidents James Carter and William Clinton? Not really. They are Jimmy and Bill (unless you are being super formal and using the middle name. President James Earl Carter is fine. President Jimmy Carter is also fine. President James Carter is not right). Beto O'Rourke is almost universally called, well, Beto, even though he's about as white as I am (which is super white) and his first name is Robert.

I have to say that referring to her as Ms. Manigault-Newman strikes me as ridiculous. It would be like referring to Ms. Ciccone or Ms. Sarkisian instead of Madonna or Cher. I suspect most people have no idea who Ms. Manigault-Newman is.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:12 AM on December 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Just for the sake of accuracy here, the NYT ran an article about her yesterday and she is referred to as "Ms. Newman" throughout after the first reference. (It's worth noting that only the NYT uses the Mr./Mrs./Ms. title.) The Washington Post ran an article today where she is "Manigault Newman" after the first reference.

But she is still "Omarosa" in headlines and on TV news because that's what everyone knows her as. If you mentioned her without the "Omarosa," up until this thread, I wouldn't have realized who it was.
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you AppleTurnover, and thanks all. I did do a quick scan and saw that it was headlines only in NYT and WaPo, but it was the Omarosa-only references elsewhere that threw me. I can't be the only person who has never seen the Apprentice.
posted by headnsouth at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2017 [2 favorites]