A former lover has publicly accused novelist Tao Lin (pictured, via) of plagiarism and abuse. E.R. Kennedy wrote 19 posts on Twitter detailing her allegations against Lin.
In one tweet, Kennedy reveals: “Tao Lin literally copied and pasted my emails into his ‘novel.’ He took credit for my words, for my painful memories, for my story.” The novel Kennedy refers to is the 2010 publication, Richard Yates.
In response to this situation, Lin confirms that he once had a romantic relationship with Kennedy, but he denies any occurrence of plagiarism or mistreatment. According to BuzzFeed, “Lin said that Kennedy read the novel Richard Yates — which Lin said details a fictionalized version of their relationship — and Kennedy approved of it being published.” He also wrote a statement on Facebook to share his side of the story.