[1] Cornell, who published Bonnie Weinstein's 2014 book, To the Far Right Christian Hater ... You Can Be a Good Speller or a Hater, But You Can't Be Both: Official Hate Mail, Threats, and Criticism From the Archives of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told an interviewer in that he is "disgusted" by hate mail.
[4] In 2019, Rare Bird became the subject of national attention when it cancelled a book by first time novelist Natasha Tynes.
[5] Social media users criticized Tynes, accusing her of racism, linking the episode to other famous cases of black people reported to the police for everyday actions.
Black women face a constant barrage of this kind of inappropriate behavior directed toward them and a constant policing of their bodies... We think this is unacceptable and have no desire to be involved with anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to jeopardize a person’s safety and employment in this way.”[6][7] Amidst the controversy, Texas multimedia company Cinestate acquired the book to be the first title launched under their new Rebeller literary imprint, part of a larger lifestyle brand that also encompassed an action movie label and website.
The book was released in April 2020, two months before Cinestate shut down amidst a sexual abuse scandal.