Tue Feb 9, 2021, 03:46 PM

Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki Called Out for 'Homophobic' Tweet Mocking Lindsey Graham as 'Lady G'

Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki Called Out for ‘Homophobic’ Tweet Mocking Lindsey Graham as ‘Lady G’

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-press-secretary-jen-psaki-called-out-for-homophobic-tweet-mocking-lindsey-graham-as-lady-g/ar-BB1dmq34

(From Mediaite).

Before her current role as White House Press Secretary for the Biden administration, Jen Psaki was a paid contributor for CNN. Her prior experience as communications director under the Obama administration led to valuable insights into the messaging strategies and tactics under then-President Donald Trump.

But some of Psaki’s partisan comments are coming back to haunt her, particularly one that is fairly viewed as homophobic.

At issue? The derisive and mocking term “Lady G,” which has been used by some progressives to mock Senator Lindsey Graham, who went from being a vocal critic of President Trump to one of his most loyal toadies during a divisive time in US political history. The idea behind this term is that Graham is closeted, and supportive of Trump because he fears outing. Graham is a confirmed bachelor but has many times denied he is homosexual — as if that matters.

In short, “Lady G” is for many, an offensive term, particularly for those who are fluent in the shifting world of identity politics. In August of last year, Psaki used the offensive phrase in a tweet critical of Graham’s pushing a “bunch of debunked conspiracy theories while questioning” Sally Yates:

only in 2020 does #LadyG get to push a bunch of debunked conspiracy theories while questioning @SallyQYates (aka an American hero)

— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) August 5, 2020

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208 replies	Author	Time	Post
Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki Called Out for 'Homophobic' Tweet Mocking Lindsey Graham as 'Lady G' (Original post)	marble falls	Feb 9	OP
This is why we can't engage in such crap. We are supposed to be the good guys.	lagomorph777	Feb 9	#1
And we are always at a disadvantage on hypocrisy	Still Sensible	Feb 9	#20
This message was self-deleted by its author	BannonsLiver	Feb 10	#139
Band aid	underpants	Feb 9	#2
If, by rip it off, you mean learn from it, apologize, and move on	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#163
Yep. Most tweeting are R's. The Reagan Battalion? Reagan was horrific to the LGBTQ community.	TheBlackAdder	Feb 11	#199
Let him or her who is without sin	grumpyduck	Feb 9	#3
Better yet: she says she was wrong, a bit insensitve, apologize and then never does it again ...	marble falls	Feb 9	#12
Apologize and move on.	Beakybird	Feb 9	#4
This.	NRaleighLiberal	Feb 9	#7
Yes	elleng	Feb 9	#16
Agreed.	TwilightZone	Feb 9	#18
+1	demmiblue	Feb 9	#81
Yes. n/t	ornotna	Feb 9	#113
Or better still, just move on.	BannonsLiver	Feb 10	#140
Yes, enough time has passed. No reason to freshen the mild transgression in people's memories.	Beakybird	Feb 10	#146
Post removed	Post removed	Feb 9	#5
No she is great. She doesn't have to go.	Demsrule86	Feb 9	#10
Are you joking?	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#11
Nope. Not even a little.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#17
Um...OK.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#33
And if this was Trumps Press secretary?	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#39
Were ifs and buts, candies and nuts, what a party it would be.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#56
uh huh. Sure.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#59
Nope.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#62
How about not cutting the damn nose in the first place?	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#65
She hasn't cut off her nose.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#67
No I am asking for a press secretary that doesn't use homophobic slurs.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#70
An actual apology should suffice.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#74
For you? Ok.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#77
You've not been paying attention to DU. I've lost count how many people use that slur here.	cwydro	Feb 9	#111
Skewer. +1.	bullimiami	Feb 9	#38
And if it were Trumps PS calling Pete Lady B?	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#42
No. I would think it was stupid, tonedeaf and insensitive and if they apologized	bullimiami	Feb 9	#49
He's called LadyG for his faux outrage 'vapors'	blm	Feb 9	#57
I don't care why he is called it.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#63
Nah, it's not.	blm	Feb 9	#71
Yes it is.	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#165
actually no that isn't why he is called that	dsc	Feb 9	#94
This	GoneOffShore	Feb 9	#98
Wow. Even some of our best - like Obama -	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#164
Seriously?	StarfishSaver	Feb 9	#25
I didn't call myself perfect in the slightest.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#37
If she was a republican and apologized it would be the same reality.	bullimiami	Feb 9	#40
Uh hub. Sure.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#45
And kudos to you as well...	LanternWaste	Feb 9	#102
If she was a republican, she would have doubled down and would have refused to apologized.	smirkymonkey	Feb 10	#121
+1. Who is their next target in the purification drive?	dalton99a	Feb 10	#136
She said it in August -	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#166
I don't know because I have never seen a Republican	Bettie	Feb 10	#167
NO. Jen is not "the devil," for fuck's sake. She was referring to current events.	SunSeeker	Feb 9	#43
Oh I see. Because others say it. It's cool.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#48
No, she was referring to the nickname given to the hypocrite by male sex workers.	SunSeeker	Feb 9	#61
Public figures can't sue for defamation.	former9thward	Feb 10	#122
Public figures can indeed sue for defamation, they just have a higher burden of proof.	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#124
It was a figure of speech.	former9thward	Feb 10	#131
Jesse Ventura.	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#152
Except he didn't.	former9thward	Feb 10	#158
Except he did. Only the "unjust enrichment" claim was thrown out, not defamation.	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#159
Not true.	former9thward	Feb 10	#175
No, what is not true is your claim that "Public figures can't sue for defamation."	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#183
You are making up everything.	former9thward	Feb 10	#185
I did not make up your wrong claim that "Public figures can't sue for defamation."	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#186
I deal in the real world, not in the world where you look up the law on google.	former9thward	Feb 10	#189
No, you misstate the law. You said, "Public figures can't sue for defamation."	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#190
Any lawyer would laugh at your post.	former9thward	Feb 11	#201
no	uponit7771	Feb 9	#47
Disagree.	JDC	Feb 9	#69
Oh please..the Republicans want her to go. Just as they wanted	helpisontheway	Feb 9	#76
Totally different scenario.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#78
Absolutely wrong. She stays!!!!	LiberalFighter	Feb 9	#95
ok. Let me know which one of us actually decides.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#99
Hence, the irrelevancy of all our opinions.	LanternWaste	Feb 9	#103
Well I will drink to that.	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#106
HELL NO. You know what I find more offensive? The incessant and relentless LIES	Vivienne235729	Feb 9	#107
She is doing an amazing job which is why	Bettie	Feb 10	#169
EXACTLY! This is why I get so mad when I hear democrats repeating RW talking points	Vivienne235729	Feb 10	#178
And when there are mountains on the other side	Bettie	Feb 10	#179
YES! That double standard infuriates me to no end, too. The media	Vivienne235729	Feb 10	#180
The double standard right now, with regard to Unity	Bettie	Feb 10	#181
Lol. Yea. Unreal,huh? I just have 2 words: Screw. That.	Vivienne235729	Feb 10	#182
This is where the derision for "cancel culture" comes from.	Silent3	Feb 9	#109
Intentionally misgendering gay men is an insult that is as old as dirt.	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#168
But it isn't just misgendering here	Silent3	Feb 10	#172
Using a homophobic/transphobic/sexist slur to point out hypocrisy	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#173
And everyone who doesn't go along with your Pronouncement from on High...	Silent3	Feb 10	#174
You obviously have not read my comments in this thread -	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#177
Nope. We already lost Al Franken over this bullshit	SoonerPride	Feb 9	#114
No, she doesn't.	kcr	Feb 10	#128
She shouldn't have done it, unless she is bi or a lesbian.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#6
That's my point. She's not homophobic that I can see. She was going after Lindsey's goat ...	marble falls	Feb 9	#19
Exactly! There is a difference between being a homophobe and saying/doing something homophobic.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#29
Graham called himself Lady G online, before anyone else did	Clash City Rocker	Feb 9	#8
Do you have a source for that?	TwilightZone	Feb 9	#14
When did Lindsey ever call himself "MissG". He has explicitly denied being gay ...	marble falls	Feb 9	#27
I believe someone said that Graham called himself Lady G online	LeftInTX	Feb 9	#36
Well	bdamomma	Feb 9	#9
This message was self-deleted by its author	BlueLucy	Feb 9	#13
1. Yes, it was way bad. 2. If a Republican had done this, what would they do?	Stinky The Clown	Feb 9	#15
Absolutely. And maybe a few of us on DU need to pay attention to that.	marble falls	Feb 9	#30
Or if a republican had done it...	SlogginThroughIt	Feb 9	#31
And no matter what we said, they would ignore it.	Stinky The Clown	Feb 9	#60
Offensive statements are so much the norm for Qs	Crunchy Frog	Feb 9	#91
That's disappointing. I thought better of her.	crickets	Feb 9	#21
She'd been excellent working as press seretary.	marble falls	Feb 9	#35
Rise up in outrage and "Franken" her!	JustABozoOnThisBus	Feb 9	#22
She's not being Frankened by anybody. Not even all the crocodile teared GOPers tweeting ...	marble falls	Feb 9	#51
That's a perfect analogy. Franken. Exactly.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#55
The OP seems to be really invested in this particular issue.	BannonsLiver	Feb 10	#142
Three or four OP's and a poll to boot... I think your observations are right on target.	NurseJackie	Feb 10	#151
Apologize and move on ...	StarfishSaver	Feb 9	#23
exactly-- it's not complicated	LymphocyteLover	Feb 10	#153
Nobody was mocking his sexuality. At least not me.	Lunabell	Feb 9	#24
It's pretty clearly a shot at his sexuality.	TwilightZone	Feb 9	#41
Absolutely she should apologize.	Lunabell	Feb 9	#54
This.	cwydro	Feb 11	#205
It is not OK to call him Lady G. She should apologize and stop doing it. nt	gollygee	Feb 9	#26
Meh.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#28
Just call it a term of endearment and move on	kiranon	Feb 9	#32
Meh, 450,000 dead. Some of ye would want to get over yourselves.	OnDoutside	Feb 9	#34
She did NOT call him that	arlyellowdog	Feb 9	#44
OMG - our side MUST BE PURE AS THE DRIVEN SNOW. Meanwhile, back in Trumpville, they'll	Vinca	Feb 9	#46
Thank you.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#50
Thank YOU, Vinca!	smirkymonkey	Feb 10	#125
She should just call him "Piece of shit Graham" and be done with it.	dem4decades	Feb 9	#52
Or "Dirty Money"	ProfessorGAC	Feb 9	#108
I think foreign money is more likely to be the case	JonLP24	Feb 10	#188
Enough	bpj62	Feb 9	#53
OK, then. A six-day-old hit-piece story about Jen Psaki,	MineralMan	Feb 9	#58
I saw this article on a queer site 7 days ago!	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#64
It was a thoroughly regrettable comment at the time.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#73
I know Marble Falls is HIGHLY unlikely to be trolling.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#79
I don't excuse the use of that nickname at all.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#84
To be very clear...	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#86
There are problems and then there are PROBLEMS.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#88
No, we are not in opposition.	Behind the Aegis	Feb 9	#92
I get it. The whole thing was avoidable, frankly.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#93
This is not a hit piece. It would never take any attention from the impeachment trial ...	marble falls	Feb 9	#83
Well, I don't care what Graham's sexuality is.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#87
I noticed.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#68
Yes. Well, I'm pleased to see that this thread is not getting recced.	MineralMan	Feb 9	#75
You are not alone in that observation.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#82
Thank you for pointing that out...	tonedevil	Feb 11	#197
Moving along	rurallib	Feb 9	#66
I know! Weird, huh?	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#105
I don't like it either.	KentuckyWoman	Feb 9	#72
Gosh, from the headline I thought she'd said it from the WH podium just today....	Hekate	Feb 9	#80
But Graham is straight. If anything this is just a tease for him being a wimp	Buckeyeblue	Feb 9	#85
Maybe give her a show on MSNBC	redstateblues	Feb 9	#89
I've heard some women say that their husbands sometimes	tavernier	Feb 9	#90
You mean, five months before she became press secretary?	mac56	Feb 9	#96
Indeed.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#97
The OP has proven to be extremely interested in this particular subject.	BannonsLiver	Feb 10	#144
She should say "I regret some people got upset at my choice of words". And move on.	Autumn	Feb 9	#100
Works for me.	NurseJackie	Feb 9	#104
Yes!!!	Vivienne235729	Feb 9	#110
She should not apologize. She's nicer and more civil than anyone Trump ever had working for him.	Autumn	Feb 9	#112
She should delete the verbiage in question	dalton99a	Feb 10	#137
Exactly! Remember Al Franken and go fuck themselves	Autumn	Feb 10	#147
+1	dalton99a	Feb 10	#134
My guess is she will apologize and then check herself going forward. She seems a decent sort.	Solly Mack	Feb 9	#101
And once again...	Behind the Aegis	Feb 10	#123
...	Solly Mack	Feb 10	#126
Very well said	MustLoveBeagles	Feb 10	#127
You're welcome.	Solly Mack	Feb 10	#130
I cannot believe the people here that think she should resign.	JanMichael	Feb 9	#115
Purification helps Republicans, not Democrats	dalton99a	Feb 10	#145
oh, so someone who goes by "Reverend Doctor Jill Biden Derek Hunter" is offended?	uncle ray	Feb 9	#116
For the record this is why liberals shouldn't say crap like this	dsc	Feb 9	#117
I really don't care do you??	Callado119	Feb 9	#118
I wouldn't mind hearing this apology from her	Zorro	Feb 10	#119
Let us all take a moment	canetoad	Feb 10	#120
+1. Jen Psaki is a friend of the LGBT community and does not deserve this kind of swiftboating.	dalton99a	Feb 10	#141
She should apologize and move on	MustLoveBeagles	Feb 10	#129
She should issue an apology.	Marrah_Goodman	Feb 10	#132
Psaki is not a homophobe, and she is doing an absolutely outstanding job for Democrats.	dalton99a	Feb 10	#133
Unfortunate, but hardly in the realm of the typical RW bullshit. Apologize and move on...nt	Wounded Bear	Feb 10	#135
Boo hoo.	BannonsLiver	Feb 10	#138
I linked this thread to my son...	NurseJackie	Feb 10	#154
My son is gay and he makes these kind of jokes about Graham	Sugarcoated	Feb 10	#143
I don't see this as homophobic	BruceWane	Feb 10	#148
To add to my own post.....	BruceWane	Feb 10	#149
+1	nsd	Feb 10	#150
No	BGBD	Feb 10	#157
Wrong	TuskMoar	Feb 11	#196
Some in the LGBT community use this term as well...	Happy Hoosier	Feb 10	#155
If I were going to be offended	Marthe48	Feb 10	#156
Lady G has more to do with him being a client of escorts	MoonlitKnight	Feb 10	#160
Exactly. nt	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#161
Good.	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#162
Are the gay sex workers who came up with the Lindsey nickname "Lady G" homophobes?	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#170
First of all -	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#176
The link was made.	SunSeeker	Feb 10	#184
I'm saying that is second hand rumor.	Ms. Toad	Feb 10	#187
Feminine pet names gay men give each other does not equate to the n-word.	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#191
The principle is identical.	Ms. Toad	Feb 11	#192
No, it's not. And if Harding says he heard sex workers call Graham Lady G, how is that hearsay?	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#193
He is reporting on what someone else said.	Ms. Toad	Feb 11	#194
No, he is asserting that he heard specific sex workers call Lindsay Graham Lady G.	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#195
What they were DOING was speaking.	Ms. Toad	Feb 11	#198
The words are not introduced for the truth of the matter asserted.	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#200
If you want to prove that a specific sex worker called Graham,	Ms. Toad	Feb 11	#203
It's admissible if Graham sued Harding for defamation for saying sex workers called Lindsey Lady G.	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#207
Why the hell should we believe what this guy says?	cwydro	Feb 11	#206
Why would you believe Lindsey? We KNOW that guy lies.	SunSeeker	Feb 11	#208
Apologize for nothing and use that Republican freedom of speech	JCMach1	Feb 10	#171
it's 'fairly viewed' that way, but not widely.	mopinko	Feb 11	#202
As I've stated before, people use that as a slur all the time in posts here.	cwydro	Feb 11	#204

Response to marble falls (Original post)

Tue Feb 9, 2021, 03:46 PM

lagomorph777 (22,224 posts)

1. This is why we can't engage in such crap. We are supposed to be the good guys.

Hypocrisy will always be outed.

Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki Called Out for 'Homophobic' Tweet Mocking Lindsey Graham as 'Lady G'

1. This is why we can't engage in such crap. We are supposed to be the good guys.

20. And we are always at a disadvantage on hypocrisy

2. Band aid

163. If, by rip it off, you mean learn from it, apologize, and move on

199. Yep. Most tweeting are R's. The Reagan Battalion? Reagan was horrific to the LGBTQ community.

3. Let him or her who is without sin

12. Better yet: she says she was wrong, a bit insensitve, apologize and then never does it again ...

4. Apologize and move on.

7. This.

16. Yes

18. Agreed.

81. +1

113. Yes. n/t

140. Or better still, just move on.

146. Yes, enough time has passed. No reason to freshen the mild transgression in people's memories.

10. No she is great. She doesn't have to go.

11. Are you joking?

17. Nope. Not even a little.

33. Um...OK.

39. And if this was Trumps Press secretary?

56. Were ifs and buts, candies and nuts, what a party it would be.

59. uh huh. Sure.

62. Nope.

65. How about not cutting the damn nose in the first place?

67. She hasn't cut off her nose.

70. No I am asking for a press secretary that doesn't use homophobic slurs.

74. An actual apology should suffice.

77. For you? Ok.

111. You've not been paying attention to DU. I've lost count how many people use that slur here.

38. Skewer. +1.

42. And if it were Trumps PS calling Pete Lady B?

49. No. I would think it was stupid, tonedeaf and insensitive and if they apologized

57. He's called LadyG for his faux outrage 'vapors'

63. I don't care why he is called it.

71. Nah, it's not.

165. Yes it is.

94. actually no that isn't why he is called that

98. This

164. Wow. Even some of our best - like Obama -

25. Seriously?

37. I didn't call myself perfect in the slightest.

40. If she was a republican and apologized it would be the same reality.

45. Uh hub. Sure.

102. And kudos to you as well...

121. If she was a republican, she would have doubled down and would have refused to apologized.

136. +1. Who is their next target in the purification drive?

166. She said it in August -

167. I don't know because I have never seen a Republican

43. NO. Jen is not "the devil," for fuck's sake. She was referring to current events.

48. Oh I see. Because others say it. It's cool.

61. No, she was referring to the nickname given to the hypocrite by male sex workers.

122. Public figures can't sue for defamation.

124. Public figures can indeed sue for defamation, they just have a higher burden of proof.

131. It was a figure of speech.

152. Jesse Ventura.

158. Except he didn't.

159. Except he did. Only the "unjust enrichment" claim was thrown out, not defamation.

175. Not true.

183. No, what is not true is your claim that "Public figures can't sue for defamation."

185. You are making up everything.

186. I did not make up your wrong claim that "Public figures can't sue for defamation."

189. I deal in the real world, not in the world where you look up the law on google.

190. No, you misstate the law. You said, "Public figures can't sue for defamation."

201. Any lawyer would laugh at your post.

47. no

69. Disagree.

76. Oh please..the Republicans want her to go. Just as they wanted

78. Totally different scenario.

95. Absolutely wrong. She stays!!!!

99. ok. Let me know which one of us actually decides.

103. Hence, the irrelevancy of all our opinions.

106. Well I will drink to that.

107. HELL NO. You know what I find more offensive? The incessant and relentless LIES

169. She is doing an amazing job which is why

178. EXACTLY! This is why I get so mad when I hear democrats repeating RW talking points

179. And when there are mountains on the other side

180. YES! That double standard infuriates me to no end, too. The media

181. The double standard right now, with regard to Unity

182. Lol. Yea. Unreal,huh? I just have 2 words: Screw. That.