Seth Dunlap is the host of the weeknight sports show “The Last Lap With Seth Dunlap” on WWL Radio in New Orleans. He’s also gay. Or, according to his station’s official Twitter page, a “f*g.”
After publishing an open letter to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees about his partnership with the antigay hate group Focus on the Family, Dunlap was called the gay slur by someone with access to the station’s official Twitter page, which has over 30,000 followers.
The homophobic tweet, which was posted yesterday, remained online for several hours before it was deleted.
Related: Radio station calls its own employee a gay slur on its official Twitter account
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
WWL Radio released a statement yesterday saying it has no idea how the tweet happened but that it is “investigating” the matter, writing: “We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.”
We are aware of a tweet that went out today from the WWL account. The content of the tweet is categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station. We are actively investigating this incident and will take swift and appropriate action once we determine how this occurred.
— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) September 11, 2019
Now, Dunlap has issued his own statement via Twitter saying he’s taking some time off to “reflect and decompress.”
This afternoon, he tweeted: “Being yourself has never been more important. The hate that has infected our society threatens to tear us apart from the inside out. I’m overwhelmed, but I’m also very proud of who I am and the life I live. I’ll be taking tonight off from the show to reflect and decompress.”
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1171851011226558464
We can’t say we blame the guy. We’d probably need a day or two off as well. Though we hope he doesn’t allow some anonymous homophobic bully to silence him for too long.
As you may recall, Drew Brees came under fire last week when it was revealed he had been working with Focus on the Family in various capacities since 2010.
When confronted about his nearly decade-long affiliation with the antigay hate group, Brees feigned ignorance then blamed the media for writing nasty, albeit truthful, headlines about him.
As we stated in a previous article, what happened to Dunlap this week is a direct result of Brees refusing to accept responsibility for his actions. By not apologizing and instead blaming the media for merely reporting the truth, he emboldened someone at WWL Radio to attack an openly gay media personality in the most public of ways.
WWL Radio has not yet issued any findings in its “investigation.”
Related: Drew Brees to people criticizing his work with antigay hate group: “Shame on you!”
alexpof
well, taking a night off just because someone called you a f*g via twitter is an overreaction too… people is way too sensitive nowadays, you can’t let every word and “insult” affects you; i would find that twit kinda funny if it was meant for me
your8thbestfriend
Had it been a random troll, yeah, dont let it get to you. But when it’s coming from your employer’s social media account…I don’t think he overreacted at all.
Cam
This came from his employer, but please, keep minimizing.
JoseGonzalez1647
well, taking a night off just because someone ….- Real truth But i am here not only to discuss this article but I would like to share with you new but absolutelly brilliant site for gay singles only. It is still private, but you can find it easy. Just google: “8DTdup8nqVkfugu6lu9997744” .
judysdad
People who insist on calling every gay man and lesbian a “queer” should take note. Many, if not most, of us would put “fag” and “queer” into the same offensive bucket.
Goforit
judysdad. Thank you. Both words were equally offensive 40 years ago and remain so today. If you want to “own” those words among your own little group, fine. Use them around me and I will call you out about your disrespect.
Clay83
If we normalise the word and use it ourselves it takes all the power from it so homophobes just dont have that same insulting power any more
PrinceofPrussia
Clay83, did that work with the “N-word?” No, it did not. It is used within the African-American community but still considered extremely offensive. Use among us will not remove the negative power, just encourage jerks to use it and claim “it’s not offensive anymore.” I don’t think so.
Bryguyf69
Judysdad wrote, “Many, if not most, of us would put ‘fag’ and ‘queer’ into the same offensive bucket.”
Hardly. If you want to be anachronistic, then you’re fighting a losing fight. Neither Millennials nor Gen-Zs agree with you. The former is our dominant cultural demographic while the latter is our future. Many respected academic institutions, including those in the Ivy League, have courses in “Queer Theory.” Queer Cinema is recognized genre, and Queer Eye is mainstream hit as well as cultural meme. Furthermore, it’s the same in every English- speaking country.
Bryguyf69
PrinceofPrussia, you are already too late. Comparing “queer” to “the n-word” is ludicrous, and ignorant of reality. First, look at this site. What’s it called? QUEERty. Second, “Queer Theory” is taught on the most respected universities. And academic articles are published with the word as a synonym for gay (I know because I do gay research). Queer Eyes is a mainstream hit and cultural meme. Etc, etc, etc. Do you see equivalents for the n-word? What university offers classes in “N Theory” (aside from a obscure mathematical sub-field of Category Theory)? Is there a genre called, “N Cinema”? Sorry, the boat had sailed and you’re left behind. Millennials and GenZs, gay or straight, generally don’t care. And that’s true in most English-speaking countries. Repeat: comparing the history of “queer” to “the n-word” shows cultural and linguistic ignorance. You’re too late. You can either accept reality, or give homophobes another weapon to offend you.
happiness17
As for Brees he may be a good ball player. After having listened to him being interviewed it’s obvious that he hasn’t done too well when it comes to intelligence.
wikidBSTN
OK Mr. Dunlap – take a day off to regroup. But please get back in that ring and stand up for yourself. Don’t let the cowardly, anonymous bigot win.
Bob LaBlah
I think if taking time off was the best he could come back with then maybe he should reconsider another area of the station to work in other than on air. You have to show you are tough, especially when you are reporting sports to yahoo’s and Bubbah’s down there. What he should have come back with is “I know how hard it is for many of you to accept that my contribution to the station has made it soar in the ratings but this is 2019 and you are just going to have to get over it and on with your lives: thank you and now for todays sports news…….”. That would have been the perfect in your face response and would have shown he can shrug off being called names in the macho world of sports because his talents far away the antics of spoiled little boys who can’t accept change. Walking off in a manner sounding as though his head is held low and crying because some one called him the F word not only shows weakness but also fuels the reasons why professional sports prefer to avoid openly gay people in its ranks. Really, who wants to be bothered with this foolishness in a competitive tight media market like New Orleans?
Goforit
Bob…. It is rare but I actually agree with you…to a certain degree. I think your “get over it” speech would be great when he goes back on air. But I do not see his taking time off as a sign of weakness. Rather, it is a way for him to pull rank. In essence he is telling the station that they had better find and fire the author of the tweet or he would be moving on to greener pastures.
Bob LaBlah
@Goforit………….As I stated and your method proves that is the reason why stations would prefer gays keep their private business private. You analogy makes it an on the job crime or an insult for two gay men to call each other “queen” in a jesting manner. Its ok for me to take a few days or a week off because you called me or I called you a queen? Professional sports look for winners, not losers and by taking time off to sulk or DEMAND the juvenilish perpetrator be fired or else I’m not coming back does not sound like the answer in a macho mans world (sports broadcasting). At that rate I doubt a gay rugby team would want such a wuss in the locker room even if they won a world championship. As a former over the road trucker I had to shrug off a lot of insults but they ALL knew do not push this queen overboard because “she” DID come out swinging a few times.
Michael007
First off, he is certainly a nice looking young man. I hate to see him embroiled in this mess. It takes a lot of confidence to be an on-air personality, especially in a sports talk show. I know I would be quite deflated had that happened to me. When I was anchoring news on TV, I took extra precautions to not be embroiled in anything to do with sex so I could steer clear of future name-calling or controversy. While what happened to him is flat, flat wrong . . . I would have taken a pass on interviewing Drew and getting into that provocative situation. My advice from having ‘been there, done that’, is to avoid such discussions. There’s always plenty of other things to talk about. Look at Anderson Cooper. He kept his private life to himself for the great duration of his life. I don’t remember him getting embroiled in sex conversations on the air that led to public scorn or name calling. When you bring on guests to question their personal persuasions, you are tempting certain sections of your audience to hurl slings at you.
jasentylar
What does Drew Brees need to apologize for? He said clearly that he doesn’t support hatred of any kind and wasn’t aware of anything of the sort. Furthermore, since he’s had a relationship with the organization for a decade why hasn’t this come up before? He made a commercial in line with his faith based beliefs. You don’t like it? Don’t support him. Jesus. Pun intended.
WillParkinson
“He’s had a relationship with the organization for a decade”
Unless he’s totally ignorant (which I’m not saying isn’t a possibility), you can’t NOT know what kind of group you’re working with.
Cam
Translation: He supported a bigoted organization whose very reason for existence is to harm LGBTQ people, but he said he’s a victim, so he’s a victim.
Got it.
Creamsicle
Sounds like he could have a pretty big lawsuit on his hands. Personal harrassment with bigoted language against a protected class from your employer’s official social media account? He’s taking the day off to sort through all the lawyers calling him!
Cam
“”When confronted about his nearly decade-long affiliation with the antigay hate group, Brees feigned ignorance then blamed the media for writing nasty, albeit truthful, headlines about him.””
—————–
Right wing bigots have two defenses.
1. They claim they are the victim if their bigotry and hate are exposed.
2. They try to claim they are nice people and smiled when they did all that bigoted stuff then attack LGBTQ people for being so “Angry”.
James Hart
It’s preposterous that Queerty calls Focus on the Family a hate group. Then, Queerty is a hate group, too, because it publishes comments that are anti-Christian. Calling an organization a “hate group” can be a double-edge sword, as it cuts both ways.