Roland Martin suspended by CNN for 'homophobic' Super Bowl tweets
theGRIO REPORT - Roland Martin has been suspended by CNN for Super Bowl tweets which many observers considered to be homophobic...
Roland Martin has been suspended by CNN after controversial tweets he made about an H&M underwear ad during the Super Bowl.
“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,” CNN said in an official statement.
Martin — who works for CNN and has hosting duties on TV One — had been tweeting throughout the game, but was widely criticized and accused of homophobia after he began bashing an H&M underwear commercial featuring David Beckham.
His tweet read: “Ain’t no real bruhs going to H&M to buy some damn David Beckham underwear!” and “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”
After the blacklash to his comments grew louder, Martin insisted that he was only mocking soccer not the LGBT community.
Yet the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) strongly disagreed and recommended that Martin should be let go from CNN.
The group tweeted, “Advocates of gay bashing have no place @CNN #SuperBowl #LGBT,” the group tweeted.
Martin tweeted back, “Well you’re clearly out of touch and clueless with what I tweeted. Way to assume, but you’re way off base.”
GLAAD also criticized Martin for another remark they believed had a homophobic tone, which read: “Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh, he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass.”
After receiving numerous calls from GLAAD and LGBT organizations, Martin eventually apologized for his comments on his Facebook page and on his website.
“To those who construed my comment as being anti-gay or homophobic or advancing violence, I’m truly sorry,” Martin wrote on his website. “I can certainly understand how someone could come to a different conclusion than the one I meant. I’m disheartened that my words would embolden prejudice. While public debate over social issues is healthy, no matter which side someone takes, there is no room for debate as to whether we need to be respectful of others.”
This is not the first time that Martin has been in hot water with the LGBT community.
An article on the Huffington Post’s Gay Voices supported GLAAD’s claims by resurfacing a blog post that Martin wrote in 2006 that supported gay conversion therapy. He also defended comedian Tracy Morgan’s controversial homophobic rant in which he suggested he’d kill his son if he were gay.
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