Gay rights watchdog group GLAAD has attacked CNN contributor Roland Martin for what it views a homophobic tweet he wrote about professional soccer player David Beckham’s new underwear ad for H&M, reports E! News.
Martin posted the tweet Sunday after the provocative spot aired on the Super Bowl.
Roland tweeted: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”
Obviously upset, GLAAD resonded with a tweet to Martin: “@rolandsmartin Advocates of gay bashing have no place at @CNN #SuperBowl #LGBT.”
Martin quickly defended himself against GLAAD and other critics, claiming that the remarks weren’t meant to be homophobic but were instead a “crack” at soccer. “@BigSqueezeO I talked smack about the Beckham ad because it was soccer. I always crack on soccer. Did it all day. This is nonsense,” he wrote.
GLAAD is calling for CNN to fire the commentator, who’s known for his colorful and off-the-cuff punditry, and claims that Martin has a track record of making homophobic remarks.
The group notes that earlier yesterday, Martin posted this status update on Facebook: “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.”
It also points out that last year, Martin appeared to defend Tracy Morgan on his website after the comedian made headlines for cracking an anti-gay joke. “Say I’m wrong. Fine. Say I’m insensitive to gays and lesbians. Fine,” he wrote.
