This parody of a landlord moaning about their tenants in the middle of coronavirus isolation is all too real
Satire is at its best when you're almost sure it's a joke... but it could actually be real?!
That's the general vibe with Twitter user "Sarah Oxford-Laughdugry", whose bio describes her as a "Mumsnet and occasional Guardian commentator", and states she was a "reluctant" Tory voter, but "joined Labour to vote for Sir Keir as leader".
Do Sarahs exist? Oh absolutely 100 per cent. Is this account account actually real? Almost definitely not.
Their latest foray into the wonderful world of parodying the tremendously privileged may be this thread in which "Sarah" reveals that she is a landlord – everyone's favourite social class – and begs for support in this difficult time after overhearing her tenants complain about her... thanks to the listening device she has secretly installed in their home.
As proof, she posted the, err, undercover recording, in which the "tenants" say, in relation to the inspection she wants to conduct:
Everyone's social distancing, we're supposed to be going into lockdown. I mean, they can't do an inspection actually. It's ridiculous! It's not safe! They're idiots. It's just not safe. We've got a bloody newborn baby. What are they thinking?
Understandably, "Sarah" disagreed:
And there's more!
They even went so far as to come for Sarah's husband Oliver's "art".
A second "recording" shows the "tenants" saying:
I found her Twitter account. It's the most preposterous thing you've ever seen. It's just self-aggradasising [sic] nonsense. She tweets about herself but she also thinks the sun shines out of her husband's arse. Posted excerpts from his screenplays, right. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read! It's hilarious.
"Sarah" is not happy (nor sober):
In case you were wondering what the "art" in question looks like, she treated us to a segment of his latest play, entitled Hard Bollocked Reality.
Particular gems include:
And:
Art indeed.
Since the world entered into self-isolation and social distancing over coronavirus fears, people have been sharing disturbing tales of shockingly unempathetic and greedy landlords (such as this one who tried to force their tenants to accommodate house viewings). So it's little surprise people found the parody a little too real.
But mostly, Twitter was in on the joke.
Landlords, if you're reading this, please have some humanity in these trying times! (Like this guy.)