Tricia Macke: Fox Anchor Returns After Suspension Over Maddow 'Angry Young Man' Comment

A Fox news anchor returned to work Tuesday night after serving a two-day suspension for calling MSNBC host Rachel Maddow an “angry young man” on Facebook, the New York Daily News reported.

Tricia Macke, an anchor for Cincinnati’s Fox 19, apologized for her Oct. 12 posting on the social networking site, which read: “Rachel Maddow is such an angry young man.”

"I recently posted comments on my personal Facebook page regarding cable news anchor Rachel Maddow which were insensitive and inappropriate," Macke said in a statement. "I apologize to Ms. Maddow and any others who may have been offended by my comments, as they do not reflect my firm beliefs in individual and equal rights, and they certainly do not represent the opinions or position of my employer WXIX-TV."

The formal apology was in response to the string of angry comments on the original Facebook post, the Daily News said, where Macke did not acknowledge that her words were offensive. “I knew what I was saying,” she wrote.

The scandal lit up the Twittersphere last week, with many people speaking out against Macke.

@ A forced apology?? Angry, bigoted woman, definitely not a journalist. Guess that's why she works for FOX. November 10, 2012

@ The comments made were super unprofessional for a journalist -- or any other professional, really. Bullying is NOT cool.

— Liz (@elizabethbarone) November 10, 2012

Others came to Macke’s defense.

@ Oh grow up. Rachel has even said she thinks she looks "like a dude." Your extreme touchiness reinforces antigay stereotypes.

— Justin Raimondo (@JustinRaimondo) November 10, 2012

The posting caused backlash not only online (“You don’t get a pass on this one Tricia,” one person commented on the original Facebook post. “When are you going to start with Jewish jokes, black jokes, fat jokes? You know better.”) but it was condemned by various LGBT groups as well.

"Cincinnati viewers rely on Macke and Fox 19 to deliver unbiased and fair reporting about the lives of LGBT people in their community,” said GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in a posting on its website. “But this is someone who attempted to insult a gay woman by questioning her gender, then stated very clearly that she did so with complete awareness of her actions.”