Famed film critic Richard Roeper has been suspended from the Chicago Sun-Times as the paper investigates allegations that he bought fake followers on Twitter.
“We became aware over the weekend of issues relating to Rich Roeper’s Twitter account,” Chicago Sun-Times editor in chief Chris Fusco said in a statement. “We’re investigating these issues. We will not be publishing any reviews or columns by Rich until this investigation is complete.”
The faux followers came to light in a New York Times piece published last week that exposed a company named Devumi, which sells fake followers to companies and celebrities including Roeper, Clay Aiken and Kathy Ireland.
Roeper currently has 224,000 followers on the social media platform, though the Times piece did not specify how many were purchased.
Roeper, 58, has been with the Chicago Sun-Times since the early ’80s, and launched his own column in 1987.
He took the place of the late Gene Siskel on the popular “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies,” which eventually brought Roeper fame after switching its name to “Ebert & Roeper” in 2000.
