Columnist Apologizes For Fat-Shaming Sarah Huckabee Sanders
A liberal Los Angeles Times columnist has issued an apology to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a personal attack contained in a recent column. The writer removed the offending language along with publishing the apology, but left up an unflattering cartoon of Sanders, the former deputy press secretary who took over the top job when Sean Spicer exited the Trump administration.
In his original column, stridently anti-Trump writer David Horsey, a Pulitizer Prize-winning commentator and cartoonist, appeared to be fat-shaming or body-shaming Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a mother of three, giving rise to accusations of sexism, even from some Democrats as reflected in the tweets embedded below.
“Sarah Huckabee Sanders does not look like the kind of woman Donald Trump would choose as his chief spokesperson…the president has generally exhibited a preference for sleek beauties with long legs and stiletto heels to represent his interests and act as his arm candy…By comparison, Sanders looks more like a slightly chunky soccer mom who organizes snacks for the kids’ games. Rather than the fake eyelashes and formal dresses she puts on for news briefings, Sanders seems as if she’d be more comfortable in sweats and running shoes.”
The column in its edited form is now preceded by the following apology from the author who may have been forced into a mea culpa by social media backlash.
“I want to apologize to Times readers — and to Sarah Huckabee Sanders — for a description that was insensitive and failed to meet the standards of our newspaper. It also failed to meet the expectations I have for myself. It surely won’t be my last mistake, but this particular error will be scrupulously avoided in my future commentaries. I’ve removed the offending description.”
“Sanders looks like a chunky soccer mom.”
What editor published this shockingly sexist piece from @davidhorsey at the @latimes? pic.twitter.com/91mLOqCe4s
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) November 3, 2017
why do men ALWAYS feel the need to comment on how women look? This, on Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is truly vile https://t.co/eQ9tLmXswQ pic.twitter.com/T4wfWFuhAI
— Rebecca Nelson Kay (@rebeccarnelson) November 3, 2017
Many on the right of the political spectrum believe that the mainstream news media, as well as the entertainment industry, ridicule prominent conservative and Republican women such as Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kellyanne Conway, and others in personal terms that they would never engage in for their liberal counterparts.
No friend of the Trump administration by any means, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has previously called out Saturday Night Live, for example, for fat-shaming Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Late last week, the liberal Think Progress website published a list of issues for which it considers are fair game for criticizing Sarah Huckabee Sanders but insisted that her weight was not one of them.
As separately noted by The Daily Caller, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni recently mocked the White House spokeswoman’s southern accent. Sanders is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
“To listen to her pronounce ‘priorities’ is akin to hearing the air seep out of a flat tire, and she leaves half of the consonants on the curb,” Bruni wrote about what some consider “southern-shaming.”
Added: In the clip below, Megyn Kelly interrogates the L.A. Times columnist about his misogynist comments about Sanders and Fox News personalities.
[Featured Image by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images]
