A climate change activist group has pulled out of a September Democratic primary forum over objections to a co-host having run an "offensive, homophobic" satire on presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, according to CNN.
"LCV is withdrawing our participation in the presidential primary candidate climate forum previously announced in New York City on Sept. 23," League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski wrote in a statement. "We will remain focused on the important work of elevating the climate crisis in this election and encouraging all the candidates to be prioritizing solutions."
The New Republic, which had been a co-host for the forum, published "My Mayor Pete Problem," in which a gay writer satirically suggested Mayor Buttigieg was too promiscuous to be in the White House, according to the report.
The op-ed was taken down several hours after it was posted and replaced by an editor’s note saying: “Dale Peck’s post ‘My Mayor Pete Problem’ has been removed from the site, in response to criticism of the piece’s inappropriate and invasive content. We regret its publication.”
The New Republic's editor, Chris Lehmann, added separately in a statement, "The New Republic recognizes that this post crossed a line, and while it was largely intended as satire, it was inappropriate and invasive."
Gizmodo, the host of the event, has since announced New Republic is no longer a co-host of the event.
"On Friday, The New Republic published an offensive, homophobic attack on Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg," the site wrote. "The article was swiftly condemned for being inappropriate, and it was taken down from the site Saturday.
"In light of these events, The New Republic is withdrawing its participation from our recently announced 2020 Democratic presidential forum on climate change, a decision that Gizmodo supports. This incident was entirely inconsistent with our values as journalists and with the inclusive atmosphere we intend to foster at the event.
"The forum itself will go on, for all of the reasons outlined in our initial announcement. Climate change is simply too important to be ignored or sidelined in the 2020 presidential race."
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