2020 has been one of the strangest years of all time and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that assessment, but who would have thought that pharma bro Martin Shkreli would re-emerge at the end of it with one of the weirdest stories of the year? Not me, but here we are.
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You probably remember that Martin Shrkeli was arrested for fraud a couple of years back and it turns out that whilst he’s been in prison he’s managed to convince a journalist who was writing a book about him to leave her husband, quit her job and freeze her eggs for him. Unfortunately for Chrystie Smyth, he also ghosted her after she revealed that their relationship was going to be the subject of a profile in Elle magazine that’s just been published. That’s really a tragedy of Shakespeariean proportions isn’t it?
The Elle magazine profile is really long, but here are some of the best excerpts highlighting their doomed romance:
Christie Smythe covered white-collar crime for Bloomberg News and lived “the perfect little Brooklyn life” with her husband. Then she threw it all away for one of her sources: infamous pharma bro Martin Shkreli. https://t.co/Xk0zXmYkgF
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) December 20, 2020
S C R E A M I N G pic.twitter.com/IMzXKSKJXn
— Brandon (@blgtylr) December 21, 2020
THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY DO SOMETHING THEY KNOW THEY SHOULD NOT DO. pic.twitter.com/luGP8nIVuD
— Brandon (@blgtylr) December 21, 2020
OH.
MY.
GOD. pic.twitter.com/sg790U86Ct— Brandon (@blgtylr) December 21, 2020
BABY NOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/Q194QpN7MT
— Brandon (@blgtylr) December 21, 2020
Sharing a passionate kiss in a room that “smelled like chicken wings”….is wow. Romance isn’t dead. pic.twitter.com/YJU6XutHxu
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) December 21, 2020
Wow. This literally reads like what I would imagine ’50 Shades Of Grey’ to read like, only without any of the kinky sex. Or when Rachel from ‘Friends’ tried to write an erotic novel, although only again without any of the eroticism. Or maybe the fact that they’ve never slept together makes the whole story way more erotic?
Anyway, it’s well worth reading the whole piece on your lunch break (or just right now, it’s the week before Christmas so I doubt you’re working on anything, right?) but if you can’t be assed, it linda sounds like Shrkeli has just masterfully manipulated her in order to try and lower his prison sentence. It’s a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome or similar, but it also really sounds like Smythe is completely smitten in her devotion to him, even after he completely ghosted her. Not really sure why she would go through with this Elle profile when it clearly seems to be against his wishes, but the writer surmises that it’s so she can reclaim the power in their relationship.
No idea if that’s really going to work here, but best of luck to her. Sounds like she could really do with some cheering up after putting all her eggs in one basket, literally. Whole story kinda emphasises what a massive douchebag Shkreli still is though, so it seems unlikely that will actually happening.
Rooting for Smythe though and can’t wait to see the movie. Maybe Jake Gyllenhaal can play Shkreli because they look a bit alike?
For more of the same, check out Shkreli receiving the ultimate humiliation from a group of teenagers back in 2016. Those were the days.