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Karen Attiah is celebrating her arbitration victory over The Washington Post with a nod to Rihanna’s song “B— Better Have My Money,” a fitting reference to the back pay she is owed after the newspaper was ordered to reinstate her.
In a post shared to social medial, the award-winning journalist wrote that winning feels good and joked about channeling her inner Rihanna for the celebration. She also included the hashtag #BetterHaveMyMoney.
BIN reported arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa ruled in August that The Washington Post did not have sufficient cause to fire Attiah and violated its labor agreement with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild. The decision ordered the newspaper to reinstate her with full back pay and lost benefits.
Attiah was fired in September 2025 after posting commentary on Bluesky following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to Reuters, the newspaper accused her of gross misconduct, claiming her posts violated its social media policies and potentially endangered staff.
The Washington Post’s termination letter, obtained by the Associated Press, said her public comments “harm the integrity of our organization.”
At the time of her firing, Attiah was the newspaper’s last Black full-time opinion columnist, according to the AP.
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