CNN commentator Roland Martin's tweet
against male David Beckham fans has landed him in trouble with media
advocacy and anti-defamation group the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD).
Referring to an H&M commercial
featuring soccer star David Beckham modeling his line of underwear
which aired during Sunday's Super Bowl, Martin tweeted: “If a dude
at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M
underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”
GLAAD messaged back: “@rolandsmartin
Advocates of gay bashing have no place at @CNN #SuperBowl #LGBT.”
The
group continued in a statement posted at its blog.
“Martin has a history of anti-LGBT
views. GLAAD is calling on him to be fired, joining many other LGBT
activists and bloggers,” the group said.
Martin denied he was advocating in
favor of violence against gay men, saying in a tweet that GLAAD was
“clearly out of touch and clueless with what I tweeted. Way to
assume, but you're way off base.”
In its statement, GLAAD noted that
Martin had supported anti-gay comments made last summer by comedian
Tracy Morgan and that he supports programs that attempt to alter the
sexuality of people who are gay.
“My wife, an ordained Baptist
minister for 20 years, has counseled many men and women to walk away
from the gay lifestyle, and live a chaste life,” GLAAD quoted
Martin as saying in 2006.