A New York Times columnist became the laughing stock of Twitter after a professor shared an email from the writer complaining about being called a 'bedbug.'  

David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, took to his social media on Monday to share that columnist Bret Stephens took issue with a tweet the educator made in reference to news that bedbugs were in the NYT newsroom.

'The bedbugs are a metaphor,' Karpf said in his initial tweet. 'The bedbugs are Bret Stephens.'

The tweet had initially received a measly nine likes, which Karpf noted, but eventually made its way to Stephens.  

In response, the columnist took to Karpf's email and CC'd GWU's provost. 

'I'm often amazed about the things supposedly decent people are prepared to say about other people - people they've never met - on Twitter,' he said in the email that Karpf shared. 'I think you've set a new standard.' 

He continued: 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.