True Crime Podcaster Surprised People Didn't Take Kindly To Poll Asking What Race They Prefer Their Murder Victims To Be

Imagine you're at a party, discussing the latest happenings in the news when all of a sudden a stranger walks up to you and presents you with this hypothetical:

"You hear about a grisly murder on TV. What race do you want the victim to be?"

Twitter essentially lived this scenario last night when a tweet from true crime podcast Sword and Scale, hosted by Mike Boudet, posted a poll asking listeners what is their preferred race of murder victims.

The poll gobsmacked Twitter users who apparently had never thought of this question and thought it an odd thing to consider.

Jesus Christ, guys https://t.co/H5Ge022Nsw

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) December 20, 2022

i think saying these exact words in this order automatically sends your soul to hell https://t.co/YNEN3cAxXb

— atrophy wife 🎀 (@zuza_real) December 20, 2022

True crime people creating new ways to be the fucking worst https://t.co/t2nIeU5tjW pic.twitter.com/4a91NyLi9n

— Complexstupidity (@JakobEscobar) December 20, 2022

What could have prompted such a bizarre poll? In the ensuing thread, Sword and Scale said it had heard popular true crime podcasts had stopped covering stories with white victims. It is unclear what or who exactly they're talking about, but the true crime genre has been criticized for focusing on white women victims in the past, as white women make up a significant chunk of the genre's demographic.

I've heard certain popular podcasts are no longer covering stories with white victims, so wondering if this is due to audience preference?

— Sword and Scale (@SwordAndScale) December 20, 2022

As the tweet racked up a damning 4,800 quote-tweet to 280 retweet ratio, Sword and Scale tweeted confusion about how it could have triggered "woke" people, who supposedly want more POC representation in media.

…just want to make sure I get your #WOKE rules just right. 👍

— Sword and Scale (@SwordAndScale) December 20, 2022

Though Sword and Scale crowed about how woke Twitter users were outraged over the tweet, it's worth noting that it then hid every single one of the dozens of negative replies the poll received.

Sword and Scale is notably hosted by Mike Boudet, a figure who has also attracted controversy in the past. In 2018, the podcast was dropped by its network Wondery after Boudet posted misogynistic comments on his Instagram. Several other minor controversies have occurred in the years since. It's unclear if Boudet is behind the poll, but many commenters on Twitter assumed so.

same dude btw https://t.co/k4l36KUC9k pic.twitter.com/lP2i2lwN9F

— leah🪁 (@_kolyadas) December 20, 2022

At the time of writing, "White" is overwhelmingly winning the poll with 66 percent of the vote while "Black" and "Indigenous" have split the vote for second place.