Roland Martin CNN, Back From Suspension For His Homophobic Comments
Commentator had been pulled off air for anti-gay tweets
Photo: CNN
CNN has lifted commentator Roland Martin's suspension five weeks after the network banned him from the air fortweets he wrote during the Super Bowl that were viewed by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and others as homophobic.
CNN had never put a time limit on the suspension. The network merely stated early last month that Martin 'will not be appearing on our air for the time being.'
Martin got into trouble when he took to Twitter to post some comments to his 95,000 followers about an H&M advertisement featuring soccer star David Beckham that aired during the Super Bowl.
The tweets included: '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!'
GLAAD immediately called for Martin's firing but later met with him in Los Angeles. After the meeting GLAAD said in a statement that 'both parties came away with a better understanding of one another and look forward to continuing this dialogue.'
On his show Washington Watch, Martin acknowledged after meeting with GLAAD that his words had a negative impact and told viewers: 'If anyone who construed my comment[s] as being anti-gay or homophobic, or advancing violence, that was not my intent, and for that I was truly sorry.'
CNN had called Martin's tweets 'regrettable and offensive' because they contained language that demeans.
The network did not release a statement on Martin's suspension being lifted but mentioned it during a conference call with the media on Monday (12 March).
Comments