Fresno State Professor Randa Jarrar is facing criticism from by both sides of the political spectrum after she risked clogging a mental health crisis hotline by tweeting its phone number out claiming it was her own.
Jarrar, who is currently dealing with a backlash over a series of tweets she made that celebrated the former First Lady Barbara Bush’s death, faced criticism on Wednesday after she decided to tweet out the number for a mental crisis hotline as a prank.
After one Twitter user published an image featuring Jarrar’s office email and phone number, Jarrar responded by providing what she claimed was her actual phone number.
“If you really wanna reach me, here’s my number ok?” she tweeted. (The tweet has been archived here.)
However, the phone number she provided actually belongs to the Arizona State University’s dedicated mental health crisis line.
Although Jarrar probably intended for the tweet to serve as a joke, a sly way for her to point out that her critics needed mental health counseling, Twitter users across the political spectrum immediately condemned her for potentially clogging up the hotline.
Dr. Eugene Gu, a resident physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and prolific Trump critic, told Jarrar to “stop.”