CNN contributor Roland Martin endured the wrath of Twitter after a series of homophobic Tweets during Sunday Night’s Super Bowl.
CNN heard Twitter’s outrage. Moments ago, the network suspended Martin.
The network issued the following statement:
“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”
Martin claimed his controversial tweet was just a jab at soccer players. It read: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad smack the ish out of him!”
Smack the “ish” is apparently a call for physical harm—and The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) wasn’t buying Martin’s soccer excuse. The tweet was part of a greater pattern of gay bashing, the organization claimed.
CNN now agrees, it seems.
Martin has yet to comment on his dismissal on Twitter.
On his personal website earlier today, however, he posted a link to a CNN story about Brandon White, a 20-year-old Atlanta resident who was ruthlessly beaten because of his sexuality. The attack had been caught on camera.
“This is what ‘smacking the ish’ out of someone for being gay can look like,” GLAAD—in one of its scathing criticisms of Martin—wrote about the video on its website.
Martin offered no explanation for why he posted the story. Perhaps it was his version of an olive branch, an effort to show he now understands that words really can hurt.
