New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens is having a bad day after snitching to the boss of a professor who wrote a funny viral tweet comparing him to a bed bug when news broke that the newspaper’s office is infested.

Stephens has now deleted his Twitter account amid massive backlash and mockery.

Dish it out but can’t take it Dept: Bret Stephens was upset that some professor called him a “bedbug” on twitter, so he sent him a personal note to complain (and a dinner invite) and cc’d his Provost. pic.twitter.com/NtTjmixsn9 — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) August 27, 2019

On Monday afternoon, a Times editor had posted that their newsroom was infested with bed bugs. George Washington University professor David Karpf saw an opening and made the joke that “the bedbugs are a metaphor. The bedbugs are Bret Stephens.”

TRENDING: BREAKING REPORT: President Trump to Nominate Amy Coney Barrett to Replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court

The bedbugs are a metaphor. The bedbugs are Bret Stephens. https://t.co/k4qo6QzIBW — davekarpf (@davekarpf) August 26, 2019

Karpf’s harmless joke initially gained little traction, but has now gone viral after he posted that Stephens had emailed his boss over it.

“This afternoon, I tweeted a brief joke about a well-known NYT op-Ed columnist,” Karpf wrote Monday night. “It got 9 likes and 0 retweets. I did not @ him. He does not follow me. He just emailed me, cc’ing my university provost. He is deeply offended that I called him a metaphorical bedbug.”

This afternoon, I tweeted a brief joke about a well-known NYT op-Ed columnist. It got 9 likes and 0 retweets. I did not @ him. He does not follow me. He just emailed me, cc’ing my university provost. He is deeply offended that I called him a metaphorical bedbug. — davekarpf (@davekarpf) August 27, 2019

After many people asked to see the email, Karpf posted it in full.

“I’m often amazed about the things supposedly decent people are prepared to say about other people — people they’ve never met — on Twitter. I think you’ve set a new standard,” Stephens wrote in an email in which the university’s provost was also copied. “I would welcome the opportunity for you to come to my home, meet my wife and kids, talk to us for a few minutes, and then call me a ‘bedbug’ to my face. That would take some genuine courage and intellectual integrity on your part. I promise to be courteous no matter what you have to say.”

Alright fine… here is the email: pic.twitter.com/A4E5I6CoB6 — davekarpf (@davekarpf) August 27, 2019

GW University responded publicly, defending their professor’s right to free speech.

The writer went on MSNBC Live Tuesday on Tuesday morning to defend his decision to snitch to the professor’s boss over a joke.

“All I would say is that using dehumanizing rhetoric like bedbugs or, you know, analogizing people to insects, is always wrong,” Stephens said. “There’s a bad history of being analogized to insects that goes back to a lot of totalitarian regimes in the past.”

“Maybe it will make you feel better about yourself,” Stephens continued. “Please consider this a standing invitation. You are more than welcome to bring your significant other.”

https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1166339360242962434%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1166349348122320897&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Ftv%2Fbret-stephens-gets-pilloried-after-damage-control-appearance-on-msnbc-what-a-fcking-baby%2F

Naturally, the overly sensitive opinion writer is being ruthlessly mocked and trending on Twitter.

Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the Bret Stephens bite. — Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) August 27, 2019

911 OPERATOR: what’s your emergency? BRET STEPHENS: 911 OPERATOR: Bret I swear to Christ this better not be about twitter… BRET STEPHENS: *hangs up the phone* — Michael Tannenbaum (@iamTannenbaum) August 27, 2019

A bedbug just emailed me and dared me to call him a Bret Stephens to his face. — Laurie Kilmartin (@anylaurie16) August 27, 2019

“Bedbug” snitch shit aside, Bret Stephens is really underestimating how many people on here would tell his wife and kids that he sucks to their face. https://t.co/xifRrgEQM8 — chris person (@Papapishu) August 27, 2019

Bret Stephens: "I'm a journalist who widely publishes my thoughts on every subject. I believe in freedom of the press & freedom of speech!" Also Bret Stephens: "How dare a mere mortal compare me to a bedbug! I called his supervisor to get him fired!" https://t.co/vMfWc7rrwF — Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) August 27, 2019

https://twitter.com/hilaryagro/status/1166183023164870657?s=20