Last year she detailed her findings to local media, yielding a front page story in the Boston Globe and no backlash.
This year, however, was a different story. “Newest Christmas controversy has social justice warriors claiming this classic holiday carol is racist,” a Fox News host told viewers earlier this month. Breitbart warned that Hamill was urging people to “shun the jaunty tune”.
Hamill said much reporting of her research was incorrect and laden with “all sorts of absolutely absurd” accusations.
“It was obviously an easy way to bait and politicise Christmas,” she said. “Which seems to be what extreme political outlets want to do.” She had never said that Jingle Bells was now racist nor had she sought to discourage people from singing the tune, she pointed out.