Tipsheet

Actress Apologizes for Inaccurate Tweet on How GOP Tax Reform Affects Teachers

Jenna Fischer, most famous for playing one half of the Jim-Pam romance on "The Office," gave Hollywood a good name by humbly correcting her inaccurate assessment of the GOP tax bill. In her original tweet, Fischer shared her outrage that the bill stops teachers from deducting the cost of classroom supplies. 

Twitter users quickly pointed out her error, explaining that while it's true the deduction was removed from the House bill at the outset, it was eventually reinstated in the final version. The actress was grateful to have been provided the information, and promptly thanked social media for correcting her. 

"Thanks for your tweets!" she wrote. "I had some facts wrong. Teachers surveyed by Scholastic in 2016 personally spent an average of $530 on school supplies for students. Teachers who worked at high-poverty schools spent an average of $672. The tax deduction was capped at $250."

She followed up that tweet with another classy statement. While she's glad her first tweet raised awareness about educators, she knew the right thing to to do was delete it and share the correct information.

In the often nasty, name calling political culture that exists on Twitter, top Republicans were grateful that Fischer admitted her mistake, sans F bombs.

Hatch had some fun with Fischer's initial tweet, referencing her old stomping grounds on The Office.

"Correction: That deduction has been left alone. Whether teachers need pens and pencils or entire reams of Dunder Mifflin’s finest card stock, they can still deduct the cost as they could before," he wrote on Twitter. "And most will also get well-deserved tax cuts."