Conservative commentator fired for attacking gay journalist online
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Conservative commentator Denise McAllister has been fired from right-wing news website The Federalist after she sent a series of derogatory tweets to a gay journalist.
Responding to the backlash, Ben Domenech, publisher of The Federalist, tweeted: “In response to your many inquiries, we’ve spoken and Denise McAllister will not be writing for us at The Federalist any more.”
McAllister also said she had received a direct message from Ben Shapiro, who runs The Daily Wire—another website she wrote for—saying she was “no longer welcome.” She has claimed that she quit.
The conservative commentator received online backlash after she sent a series of tweets to gay journalist Yashar Ali in which she referenced his sexual orientation.
Conservative commentator Denise McAllister said gay journalist Yashar Ali is ‘lost’ and ‘tries to find himself in another man’s asshole’
The furore kicked off when McAllister posted a tweet saying her husband had reprimanded her for speaking while he was watching a game.
She followed it up with: “He’s right. I slipped.”
Ali then shared a screenshot of the tweet and quoted McAllister and said “Oh Denise” followed by a sad face emoji.
McAllister responded with: “A gay man commenting on a heterosexual relationship is just. Sad. Pathetic really.”
“He doesn’t know his purpose as an Individual. So he wallows and tries to find himself in another man’s asshole. Sad.”
– Denise McAllister
She then posted another tweet which said: “I think @yashar has a crush on me. Maybe I’m making him doubt his love of penis.”
Later on, McAllister said: “I stand up for men being free in their masculinity. Respected for their masculinity. I’m attacked by gay men and their female sidekicks. What do you men think about this? We live in a society that wants to rob men of their manhood. Are you going to sit by and take it? Or fight?”
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In a widely shared tweet directed at Ali, McAllister then said: “Oh so sad. @yashar is lost. He doesn’t know his purpose as a man. He doesn’t know his purpose as a human being. He doesn’t know his purpose as an Individual. So he wallows and tries to find himself in another man’s asshole. Sad.”
Yashar Ali said he was ‘grateful for all the love and support’
When those tweets led to significant backlash, conservative commentator McAllister followed up with: “Oh my. I criticised ONE gay dude because he attacked me and my respect for real masculinity. Burn me at the stake. I’m quivering. And laughing at all of you.”
She later said that she has been “threatened with rape” online and told to attempt suicide by trolls, and said: “If one tweet saying a man likes it up the ass—a true point—gets me banned then Free Speech is dead.”
McAllister later tweeted: “They won. Goodbye, my friends”—presumably referencing her firing from The Federalist.
Meanwhile, Ali responded to the uproar by sharing a screenshot of one of McAllister’s tweets, and said: “I was bullied for being Iranian as a kid. But I never felt ashamed of my ethnicity. I came out on 8/17/2001 & while it hasn’t always been easy, I have always been proud of who I am. I’m Iranian, gay, and Catholic. Perhaps an odd combo, but I wouldn’t change who I am for the world.”
He also thanked those who defended him, saying he was “grateful for all the love and support.”
