Actor Rob Lowe’s tweet mocking Elizabeth Warren’s controversial claims to Native American ancestry was deleted following a wave of outrage, which in turn prompted a heated backlash about “snowflakes” and Hollywood hypocrisy.
Massachusetts Senator Warren officially launched her presidential bid on Saturday, inspiring Lowe to tweet that she “would bring a whole new meaning to Commander in ‘Chief.’”
The joke played on the hot water Warren found herself in for exaggerating her Native American ancestry over the years.
However, the actor soon deleted the tweet, explaining, “It was a joke and some peeps got upset, and that’s never my intention.”
Many people, including Lowe’s fellow Hollywood actors, reacted badly to the tweet, calling it racist, but others saw it as a joke without any hidden agenda. Such Twitter users were quick to respond to the outrage that had followed the initial tweet, saying the pushback was a prime example of “snowflakes” reacting badly, and lamenting that jokes are no longer acceptable.
Some appeared to be offended by the fact that Lowe’s joke was in line with Trump’s own repeated mocking of Warren, who he calls “Pocahontas” for claiming to be a Native American. Lowe’s tweet came hours after Trump made a similar tweet that was accused of referencing the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of Native Americans in 1833-1850.
Others accused Hollywood of hypocrisy, saying it was okay for them to tweet bad things about Trump, but it was off-limits to do the same about a Democrat.
Warren apologized for her Native American claim again – twice in the last two weeks – telling reporters, “I’m not a tribal citizen. My apology is an apology for not having been more sensitive about tribal citizenship and tribal sovereignty.”
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