Actor Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute on the NBC hit comedy "The Office," made a joke about political correctness on social media Wednesday and set off a firestorm of criticism.
The Daily Wire reported that Wilson tweeted, "TIL you can no longer say 'nursing or breastfeeding mother' you have to say 'chestfeeding person.' Just FYI."
Though he deleted the post, the actor was swamped with offensive messages, and he later issued an apology.
"Yesterday I tweeted a mean crack about breastfeeding vs chestfeeding. After speaking with some Trans friends and educating myself a bit more I want to apologize for the tweet. It was adding to misinformation and meanness. I'm sorry," Wilson tweeted.
Some people weren't satisfied with just an apology.
"Now do something to materially benefit trans people," one user said.
"(T)hese replies rlly ain't it, this guy has 4.4m followers and contributed to misinformation and transphobia. words are one thing, but it's really important to follow them up with action. if he can't donate, i'm sure he can use his platform towards aiding and supporting trans ppl," another commented.
Some people, however, thought Wilson shouldn't have apologized for his comments at all.
"Nothing is ever enough, is it?" one person said.
"It's why you don't apologize. Once they see you'll bend the knee they don't stop," another replied.
Transgender activist Parker Molloy replied to Wilson's original tweet, writing, "Jesus Christ. Dwight freaking Schrute over here sputtering nonsense straight off Breitbart. (Nobody is telling anyone they have to say 'chestfeeding.' That's just not a thing. JFC)."
Molloy went on to say that "chestfeeding" is not a mainstream word and claimed that no one was trying to force people to use the "inclusive" term instead of "breastfeeding."
In a report from last year, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM), a nongovernmental organization, encouraged the use of "gender-inclusive" language, such as "chestfeeding," and included a table of suggested terms.
"ABM recognizes that not all people who give birth and lactate identify as female, and that some of these individuals identify as neither female nor male," the report read. "To be inclusive of all people in our written materials, use of desexed or gender-inclusive language (e.g., using 'lactating person' instead of 'mother') is appropriate in many settings.
"Our readership should be aware that the intention of our written materials, such as protocols and position statements, is to be inclusive of all breastfeeding/chestfeeding and human milkfeeding individuals," it added.
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