Liberal actor Mark Duplass has been forced to apologise for a tweet praising conservative commentator Ben Shapiro as a “nice” person whose “intentions are good.”
‘The Mindy Project’ star directed his tweet to “fellow liberals” and advised them to follow Shapiro if they were interested in “crossing the aisle” and hearing opinions from those who disagree with them politically.
“I don’t agree with him on much but he’s a genuine person who once helped me for no other reason than to be nice. He doesn’t bend the truth. His intentions are good,” the since-deleted tweet read.
But it turned out not many of Duplass’ fans were interested in hearing new opinions. As soon as the actor hit send on the seemingly innocent musing, the backlash began with liberals tweeting him to express their disgust at his apparent endorsement of Shapiro, who they said was “transphobic” and someone who “mocked” the LGBT community.
Duplass caved to the pressure immediately, issuing a statement of apology calling his original tweet “a disaster on many levels” and saying that he should be more “diligent and careful” on social media.
“I want to be clear that I in no way endorse hatred, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, or any such form of intolerance. My goal has always been to spread unity, understanding and kindness,” Duplass wrote.
The actor ended the grovelling apology by saying that he still believed in “bi-partisan understanding” and promising to work to “promote peace and decency” in the world.