Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s White House correspondent, has come under fire after homophobic tweets from her college days have come to light.
The Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative LGBTQ political group, found two tweets by Collins from 2011 when she attended the University of Alabama. In the tweets she uses the word “fag” as a putdown and in another expresses discomfort about rooming with a lesbian.
Past tweets reveal @CNN reporter @kaitlancollins called people “fag” and was uncomfortable around lesbians.
cc: @CNNPR @mdornic @SamFeistCNN @DavidChalian pic.twitter.com/psicXjeHJR
— LogCabinRepublicans (@LogCabinGOP) October 7, 2018
Within an hour of the Log Cabin tweet, Collins apologized via Twitter, saying she used “ignorant language” that was “immature.” She added that the tweets don’t “represent the way I feel at all.”
She closed with an unqualified, “I regret it and I apologize.”
When I was in college, I used ignorant language in a few tweets to my friends. It was immature but it doesn’t represent the way I feel at all. I regret it and apologize.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 7, 2018
The apology tweet received over 7,000 ‘likes’ but even more comments.
Most of the replies were from far-right leaning Twitter users who used the occasion to bash Collins in an attempt to equate her two college tweets with the recent allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against newly-confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
So what you're saying is, we shouldn't judge someone (no pun intended) by the way they acted in college? Or, say, high school?
— Jeff Crenshaw (@JeffCren) October 8, 2018
You spent all last week destroying a mans life, his children’s lives, and his wife’s life over rumored actions of his from high school 38 years ago
Now your sorry and everyone should accept your apology for racial and gay slurs you made mere years ago.
Karma at its finest.
— Darwin Darling (@MrDarwinDarling) October 8, 2018
The Log Cabin Republicans made a point of tagging CNN Vice President of Communications and Digital Partnerships Matt Dornic in their tweet.
Dornic, who is openly gay, responded with support for his colleague saying while he’s “disappointed she ever used the word,” he accepts her apology and says “with certainty” those tweets don’t reflect her feelings about the LGBTQ community.
I’m a proud gay man. And I am a proud friend of @kaitlancollins. Tho I’m disappointed that she ever used the word (even as an immature college kid), I can say with certainty it doesn’t reflect her feelings toward the LGBTQ community. She’s apologized and I accept that.
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) October 7, 2018
Collins has worked at CNN since 2017. Prior to that she was a contributor for the conservative political website, The Daily Caller, founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
As the image above shows, Collins found herself the target of conservatives earlier this summer when she was banned from covering a White House event because she had repeatedly asked Donald Trump questions about his former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Cohen has since pleaded guilty to eight counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud.
What do you think, readers? Is there a double-standard in play here?
Or, is there a difference between a college student using a slur in a tweet versus allegations of sexual assault?
Also, Collins immediately apologized without any qualifiers like the always dreaded “if anyone was offended…” Does that make a difference?
Do we accept apologies anymore?
Finally – social media posts are becoming the new 'skeletons' in our closets. Is there anything in your social media that could come back to haunt you?
Sound off in the comment section below.
(h/t Gay Star News, NewNowNext)
