Hollywood actor slammed for xenophobic tweet mocking Melania Trump's accent



Actor Tim Matheson faced swift backlash after insulting Melanie Trump over her foreign accent that some deemed to be "xenophobic." The 73-year-old Hollywood actor, who is best known for his role as Eric "Otter" Stratton in the movie "National Lampoon's Animal House," tried to tweet his way out of trouble for ridiculing the former first lady.

While delivering a compliment to first lady Jill Biden, Matheson took a shot at Melania, who grew up in Slovenia before leaving for Italy after she signed a contract with a modeling agency in Milan at age 18.

In the since-deleted tweet, Matheson wrote, "So wonderful to have a First Lady with class and heart. And, can speak English!"

deleted, but the List comes for all, @Tim_Matheson.✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼 https://t.co/FEvWoFoe6n
— Siraj Hashmi in Gitmo (@Siraj Hashmi in Gitmo)1611371747.0

Matheson attempted to smooth over the degrading affront against Melania by saying, "This morning I made a hasty and stupid joke about the former First Lady. It wasn't funny, and it was in poor taste. It was regretful and humorless and I apologize."

This morning I made a hasty and stupid joke about the former First Lady. It wasn't funny, and it was in poor taste… https://t.co/m9t3ZNkbde
— Tim Matheson (@Tim Matheson)1611358913.0

However, Twitter users pointed out that Matheson also deleted a previous tweet where he doubled-down on maligning Melania.

"Comedy is sometimes cruelly honest," the thespian maintained. "The ex-First Lady doesn't have any of my respect for anything. Sorry."

@Tim_Matheson and then reinforced it https://t.co/YV47dYoqwQ
— Jessica O’Donnell (@Jessica O’Donnell)1611360713.0

Matheson, who played Vice President John Hoynes on the TV drama "The West Wing," was shellacked with retribution from online commenters over his denigratory jab.

One Twitter user replied, "It's because you're an out of touch actor no surprise. Stay ignorant ya racist."

Another person burst out, "You're a xenophobe and bigot. Your comments open yourself and any company you work for to discrimination lawsuits. I hope your victims of workplace harassment and discrimination come forward."

A son of immigrants schooled the actor, "Tim, my parents were doctors in Cuba who came to the US escaping Castro. After years of hard work they got their MD's again and practiced for 30 years. Still, throughout their professional lives here there were always fools like you who mocked their accents."

One critic added, "Yeah, showing your true colors. Love immigrants until they get here and become Americans and don't think the way you think they should and then you loathe them."

This isn't the first time a liberal Hollywood actor attacked Melania over her accent. Bette Midler bashed the former first lady in August for Melania's speech during the Republican National Convention.

"#beBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!" Middler mocked Melania. "Oh, God. She still can't speak English."

Middler was also smashed with backlash for her xenophobia.

Middler then attempted to justify the hateful remarks by saying, "Just giving them a taste of their own immigrant bashing medicine."

Following even more outrage, Middler finally bent the knee and mustered up an apology.

"Well, all hell has broken loose because I said Melania 'still can't speak English' last night," she tweeted. "I was wrong to make fun of her accent. America is made up people who speak with all kinds of accents, and they are all welcomed always."

Democratic socialist AOC gets destroyed for selling $58 'Tax The Rich' shirts



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is a self-declared democratic socialist who has been a vocal critic of capitalism. In the past, she has instructed her nearly 11 million Twitter followers to "Resist disaster capitalism." Last year, AOC called declared capitalism to be "irredeemable."

Ocasio-Cortez railed against Amazon constructing a second headquarters in New York City, which was estimated to bring "at least 25,000 to 40,000 good paying jobs and nearly $30 billion dollars in new revenue" into the state. according to New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

This week, the democratic socialist fully embraced capitalism by peddling $58 shirts that say, "Tax The Rich" on them. The $58 does not include shipping and handling. AOC's merchandise website indicated that it would cost an additional $9.22 to ship the product to my house, bringing the grand total for the shirt to $67.22. The shop stated that the shirt would ship via the U.S. Postal Service, and "ship in 1-2 weeks + 2 business days in transit."

Pre-orders were being taken this week for the "gender neutral fit" shirts.

Thanks!Preorders are open now :) https://t.co/J973Ot2VAt https://t.co/yY7SpOG4VD
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)1606948590.0

It turns out that AOC has an entire merchandise shop, where she sells a hoodie promoting the Green New Deal, made from 20% polyester, for a whopping $65.

If you can't afford the expensive long-sleeved shirts, you can purchase a strangely worded T-shirt that says "AOC + ME" for $27. Instead of paying off your student loan you can spend $27 on a cancel student debt T-shirt. There is even a perplexing "Drink Water & Don't Be Racist" T-shirt for $27.

The AOC shop also hawks other swag, such as $24 posters and $25 onesies promoting the Green New Deal, a $28 "Abolish ICE" hat, a $27 tote bag, and a $27 mug that promote Ocasio-Cortez.

Many people considered the Democratic socialist selling products at premium prices to be "hypocritical," and bashed the Democratic congresswoman for selling such high-priced goods on Twitter.

AOC has a store where she’s selling shirts... otherwise known as capitalism https://t.co/EfMT9ZAsGN
— Ryan James Girdusky (@Ryan James Girdusky)1606970674.0
Capitalism is amazing, isn't it? https://t.co/JZa0006DRT
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@Allie Beth Stuckey)1606969214.0
AOC:“Capitalism sucks!”Also AOC:“Buy my Green New Deal sweatshirt for $65!” https://t.co/DAq4ComvwB
— Courtney Holland 🇺🇸 (@Courtney Holland 🇺🇸)1606968876.0
Why aren’t they free? https://t.co/FEzhMFuBRV https://t.co/4UH2ntIZDD
— Prison Mitch (@Prison Mitch)1606971025.0
AOC is selling $65 dollar sweatshirts that say “tax the rich” that only rich ppl can afford. Should just say “Tax M… https://t.co/tYbw8ZFTwv
— matt’s idea shop (@matt’s idea shop)1606969848.0
@AOC Slay, my capitalist kween.
— The Red-Headed libertarian ™ (@The Red-Headed libertarian ™)1607000116.0
looking forward to AOC buying a third home https://t.co/pPfhbp9Xls
— Siraj Hashmi (@Siraj Hashmi)1606970678.0

One person, who seemed to be an AOC supporter and retweeted the congresswoman numerous times in the past, simply wrote, "Wish I could afford this."

@taxmarch @AOC Wish I could afford this
— LovethatBoMolly (@LovethatBoMolly)1606951436.0

Post-debate media roundup: Poor boys, Abraham Lincoln and Hunter Biden



The final debate before the 2020 presidential election saw the two candidates punching hard at each other, but neither struck a knockout blow. Most commentators thought NBC News moderator Kristen Welker did a much better job and the muting of microphones seemed to aid in keeping the discussion civil and more intelligible.

Here are some of the more interesting reactions to the debate from social media.

Many people were glad that Hunter Biden was made an issue:

Hunter is a bigger story tomorrow because Biden preposterously claimed that the laptop was Russian disinformation.… https://t.co/5eJQFOmVwL
— Andy McCarthy (@Andy McCarthy)1603421594.0
Not heard from Biden: those emails are fake. The laptop isn’t Hunter’s.
— Megyn Kelly (@Megyn Kelly)1603417145.0
Biden is challenging Trump to bring up Hunter right now. Let ‘er rip, tater chip.
— Dana Loesch (@Dana Loesch)1603416491.0
Biden is rattled because you can use your next words are gonna be about his crimes and HUNTER.. Hit him with your best shot!
— Kirstie Alley (@Kirstie Alley)1603416513.0

While many thought it wasn't enough on the topic:

I’m sorry but 30 secs on the Hunter allegations is a joke.
— Megyn Kelly (@Megyn Kelly)1603417172.0

Biden sarcastically referred to the president as Abraham Lincoln and he didn't quite get it:

Thanks to this exchange, Abraham Lincoln was trending on Twitter briefly. But unfortunately for Biden, Twitter noticed he mistook the "poor boys" for what he meant, which was "Proud Boys," a far-right organization:

Who are the Poor Boys? #Debates2020
— Andy Ngô (@Andy Ngô)1603419557.0
Isn’t poor boys a sandwich?
— Dana Loesch (@Dana Loesch)1603419802.0
I'm naming my new band Abe Lincoln and the Poor Boys.
— Noam Blum (@Noam Blum)1603419716.0
i’m just a poor boys, nobody loves me
— Siraj Hashmi (@Siraj Hashmi)1603419626.0
Poor boys vs Proud Boys https://t.co/znLLHjY11t
— Matthew Yglesias (@Matthew Yglesias)1603419816.0

Even some of his critics admitted the president did better than in the first debate.

stylistically, Trump was much, much better tonightsubstantively, characteristically weak. high nonsense quotient
— John Harwood (@John Harwood)1603421428.0
Trump won this debate, handily. Biden wasn’t a force at all. Trump was substantive, on-point, well-tempered. Defini… https://t.co/pXx7hCsrmH
— Megyn Kelly (@Megyn Kelly)1603420545.0

And they had to admit that Biden issued an enormous lie during the debate:

CNN FACT CHECK: "So in this case, Trump is correct. Biden did make anti-fracking comments during the Democratic pri… https://t.co/fbNrF49q93
— Steven Cheung (@Steven Cheung)1603423898.0

According to Paula Reid of CBS, the president stuck to their plan with at least two points:

.@PaulaReidCBS explains how advisers say @realDonaldTrump succeeded on two key points in his #Debates2020 strategy:… https://t.co/LlwHWpKO5F
— Face The Nation (@Face The Nation)1603421284.0

ABC News' Jon Karl said Trump didn't do any damage, but didn't do enough to change the race either.

.@jonkarl says Trump allies were "relieved" with Pres. Trump's debate performance, but "did it do enough to change… https://t.co/f3ZKl1BTFo
— ABC News (@ABC News)1603422350.0

CNN host Jake Tapper complimented Trump, then called him a liar:

"It’s fair to say that Trump supporters and Republican office holders can relax for the night. They can exhale. He… https://t.co/ov7Sc4Rpbj
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@Anderson Cooper 360°)1603422862.0

And MSNBC was cheerleading for Biden:

And they were making excuses for Biden's past policies on imprisoning black males:

Van Jones was not impressed with the appeal to African Americans by Trump during the debate:

“I don’t think most African-Americans feel that we have a President that really understands the pain that we’re goi… https://t.co/1yRFZRXUv6
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@Anderson Cooper 360°)1603424033.0

Even Biden complimented the moderator after the debate:

Biden on the tarmac in TN just now on how he feels tonight's debate went: "Well that’s for the public to judge. I f… https://t.co/m4jdgeWSYc
— Johnny Verhovek (@Johnny Verhovek)1603423240.0

Norah O'Donnell of CBS said it was more substantive, and that the muting of the microphones worked:

.@norahodonnell on the second Trump-Biden debate: "It was as if the muting of the microphones worked, or each of th… https://t.co/ldZchGoKBX
— CBS News (@CBS News)1603421293.0

Here are the numbers for the debate:

Our @CBSNews count for tonight's debate:Candidate Speaking TimeDonald Trump: 40:24Joe Biden: 37:22 Questions… https://t.co/POVcAdgN1U
— Sarah Ewall-Wice (@Sarah Ewall-Wice)1603422947.0

And as always, there were jokes:

That’s it! I am not voting for Hunter Biden.
— Bill Maher (@Bill Maher)1603417173.0
CNN’s @ddale8 just a few mins ago: “For a fact checker, you’re kind of sitting there w/Biden. Occasionally you’re l… https://t.co/8oEQB3k2Hx
— Maegan Vazquez (@Maegan Vazquez)1603422685.0

Emmy-nominated sports reporter fired after he called GOP Sen. Tim Scott an 'Uncle Tom'



A TV sports reporter was fired on Wednesday after he called Republican Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) an "Uncle Tom."

Fred Gerteiny, a sports reporter for the News 12 Connecticut network, wrote the racial slur in a since-deleted post on Twitter. Gerteiny replied to a tweet by The Hill's Twitter account that linked to an article about Scott commenting on President Donald Trump's remarks during the first presidential debate regarding the Proud Boys.

Gerteiny wrote, "Thanks Uncle Tom," in the now-deleted tweet.

deleted, but the List comes for all, @FredGerteiny.✍🏼✍🏼✍🏼 https://t.co/2ktrow7JuM
— Siraj Hashmi (@Siraj Hashmi)1601492251.0

On Wednesday, Gerteiny issued an apology on his Twitter account, which has since been deleted.

"Earlier today, I tweeted a racially insensitive comment, when I referred to @SenatorTimScott as an 'Uncle Tom.' I apologize to the Senator, my colleagues @News12CT, and anyone else I may have offended with this deeply offensive tweet," Gerteiny wrote.

Gerteiny, who is white, claimed that he also "wrote an email to Senator Scott" to apologize for the comment.

Gerteiny was fired by News 12 Connecticut for the "racially insensitive comment" on Wednesday.

"News 12 Connecticut learned on Wednesday afternoon that one of its anchors acted inappropriately on social media. After reviewing the incident, the network released sports reporter, Fred Gerteiny, as a result of a racially insensitive comment," News 12 Connecticut said in a statement. "News 12 Networks has a zero tolerance policy for racism or improper conduct based on race, and prides itself on being an objective and unbiased multi-platform news company."

Gerteiny's profile has been scrubbed from the News 12 Connecticut website.

An "Uncle Tom," is a "Black person, especially a man, considered by other Black people to be subservient to or to curry favor with white people," according to the definition provided by Dictionary.com.

Scott told reporters on Wednesday that he believed President Trump "misspoke" during the presidential debate.

"White supremacy should be denounced at every turn," Scott said. "I think the president misspoke, and he needs to correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak."

President Trump has since clarified his comments from Tuesday's debate. On Wednesday, President Trump said he didn't know who the Proud Boys are and noted that the group should "stand down and let law enforcement do its work."

Earlier this year, Scott predicted that black support for President Donald Trump would increase by 50% in 2020 compared to 2016.

"President Trump will see a 50 percent increase in his African-American support," Scott told Fox News host Neil Cavuto in February. "It will go from 8 percent in 2016 to a minimum of 12 percent in 2020. He may even get to 15 percent of the African American vote, and that is game over."

.@SenatorTimScott to Neil: President Trump will see a 50% increase in his African American support, it will go from… https://t.co/7UsSJmwnSR
— Neil Cavuto (@Neil Cavuto)1582237933.0

Another black conservative had racial slurs thrown at him in the past week. Women's March co-founder Tamika Mallory called Republican Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron a "sellout negro" for not charging the two police officers in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Daily Beast columnist and CNN commentator Sophia A. Nelson called Cameron an "Uncle Tom," who "is a disgrace to his people and his community."