Michael Cole posted a homophobic slur this afternoon on his recently launched Twitter account as he called fellow WWE announcer Josh Mathews a ‘faggot’. The tweet was in response to Mathews writing “Chicago!”, the host city of this Monday’s Raw taping.
The one word message was deleted approximately half an hour later and an apology was issued.
“I apologize to any and all who were offended by my tweet toward young Josh Mathews,” Cole wrote. “It was obviously not meant the way it was taken.”
He later added, “I was not ordered to apologize I said I am sorry because I am. Now can I get back to being a character again please?”
World Wrestling Entertainment recently came under fire from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which took issue with the ‘homophobic taunts’ John Cena directed towards Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the February 28 episode of Monday Night Raw. Cena’s unsavory verbiage prompted WWE to issue an apology and form a partnership with the organization on an anti-bullying campaign.
WWE subsequently released the following statement:
“WWE takes this issue very seriously, and has already spoken with our talent about these incidents. We are taking steps and working with GLAAD to ensure that our fans know that WWE is against bullying or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. We strongly value our fans in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and apologize to them for these incidents.”
It was also noted in GLAAD’s press release that WWE has invited the organization to conduct training sessions for their staff of writers and editors.
