news culture Total bang! Government Twitter account apologizes for homophobic tweet… about Luigi
The official Twitter account of Colombia’s Interior Ministry has had to apologize after posting a homophobic tweet… targeting Luigi.
The tweet too many
Earlier this week, the official Twitter account of Colombia’s Interior Ministry responded to one of its own homophobic tweets targeting Luigi, Mario’s brother and Nintendo mascot. The tweet in question, since deleted, read “I hope Luigi is gay
Aside from the relevance of such a tweet to a government institution’s account, which is likely a mistake by that account’s community manager, it’s the terminology used that poses a problem. “I hope Luigi is a fag‘ is the exact quote, with ‘Marica’ being a pejorative term used to describe queer men.
The Twitter community quickly appropriated this first tweet by sharing screenshots on social media. Shortly after this controversy, the Home Office account took the lead and insisted on supporting the LGBT community. A message with the hashtag “SauveUnCM” proving that this is an account manager error.
We know it wasn’t the words, but we are aware that homophobia kills. That is why we support all initiatives that make the LGBTIQ+ population visible and work to ensure that their rights are guaranteed. #SalvaUnCM https://t.co/9pObXcShXK
— MinInterior Colombia (@MinInterior) April 19, 2023
We know those weren’t the words, but we know homophobia kills. That’s why we support all initiatives that aim to give the LGBTQI+ community a voice and advocate for the recognition of their rights.
