UPDATE 2:05 p.m.: Even the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is coming to the Star City’s defense after a staff writer for The New Yorker said a game show prize trip to Roanoke seemed “more like a punishment,” sending the Twitter-verse into a frenzy.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted, “Virginia is for lovers, not haters. We welcome everyone to our Commonwealth — come visit the Star City and see for yourself!”
UPDATE 11:11 a.m.: Since #Roanoke is still trending Tuesday morning after a writer for The New Yorker tweeted about a game show prize trip to the Star City seeming “more like a punishment,” the Hotel Roanoke decided to give away a Romance Package of an overnight stay with breakfast in the Regency Room just in time for Valentine’s Day.
According to the Hotel Roanoke, the Romance Package will be good for one year, depending on availability.
In order to throw your hat in the ring, all you need to do is like and comment on the Hotel Roanoke’s Facebook post about why you love Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Then, on Valentine’s Day, the hotel will select a winner to come stay at “The Grand Old Lady in lovely Roanoke, Virginia!”
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — You may have noticed that Roanoke, Virginia was trending on Twitter overnight, even drawing the attention of Stephen King. That’s because a staff writer at The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum, tweeted about the Star City Monday afternoon… except it wasn’t exactly nice.
After watching a 1970’s episode of a game show where the couple won a trip this southwest Virginia city, Nussbaum tweeted on Monday, Feb. 8, “LOL, just watched an episode of The Dating Game in which the prize was a trip to glamorous… Roanoke, VA. That seems more like a punishment. <Preparing to be ratio’d by Roanoke.>”
As of 7:22 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 — exactly 17 hours after the tweet was posted– Nussbaum’s tweet has been retweeted 89 times, quoted 199 times, and liked 1,670 times.
In a follow-up tweet, Nussbaum said, “I mean, I’m sure Roanoke is lovely. But I seriously doubt that Karen Carpenter was dreaming of going to a hotel there with some random British dude.”
Needless to say, the Twitter-verse came to Roanoke’s defense.
New York Times best-selling author Beth Macy told Nussbaum she would love her city of three decades, citing the outdoor amenities and “undercurrent of grooviness.”
Roanoke Del. Sam Rasoul also spoke up, tweeting, “Shots fired. @emilynussbaum we welcome your visit with open arms. A wonderful meal on me when you come to see our beautiful @City_of_Roanoke.”
Naturally, the City of Roanoke also jumped on board the Twitter train Tuesday morning by posting, “So….we are trending and want to invite @emilynussbaum to our Star City to see how amazing Roanoke is 😃 #starcity #roanokeva #hiddengem“
Others — such as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) — tweeted about the beautiful photos that come up when you Google Roanoke, Virginia.
Of course, some people actually sided with Nussbaum.
Even the renowned horror and science fiction author Stephen King poked fun at the overnight debate by tweeting, “First prize: A week in beautiful Roanoke! Second prize: TWO weeks in beautiful Roanoke!”
