Sometimes people can have all the best intentions in the world, but not be really able to voice them correctly. That’s the message that Mark Duplass would like to spread today. You see, the indie filmmaker has found himself in the middle of a Twitter shitstorm and all he was trying to do was preach a bit of kindness. Clearly, he just didn’t do it in the exact right way.
It all started when Duplass tweeted a seemingly harmless message. He said, in a now-deleted tweet, “Fellow liberals: If you are interested at all in ‘crossing the aisle’ you should consider following @BenShapiro. I don’t agree with him on much but he’s a genuine person who once helped me for no other reason than to be nice. He doesn’t bend the truth. His intentions are good.”
Now, while many would commend the filmmaker for trying to spread a little kindness and understanding, the guy he suggested that his followers check out is none other than Ben Shapiro. And to call Shapiro anything less than a prick is a gross understatement. As was pointed out by the many, many, MANY replies to Duplass’ tweet, Shapiro has been guilty of tweeting homophobic, racist, and overall disgusting crap in the past, and continues to do so on a semi-regular basis.
As you might imagine, Duplass took the temperature of the room, realized he might have set off a few alarms, and quickly deleted the tweet. In its stead, he posted a statement apologizing for his misjudgment, but still trying to get across his message.
“So that tweet was a disaster on many levels,” the actor tweeted. “I want to be clear that I in no way endorse hatred, racism homophobia, xenophobia or any such form of intolerance.”
He continued, “My goal has always been to spread unity, understanding and kindness. But I am going to make mistakes along the way. Sometimes I move too quickly when I get excited, or fail to do enough research, or I don’t communicant myself clearly. I’m really sorry. I now understand that I have to be more diligent and careful. I’m working on that.”
“But, I do believe deeply in bi-partisan understanding and I will continue to do my best to promote peace and decency in this would right now. that said, I hear you. And I want to say thank you to those who reached out with constructive criticism,” he concluded. “I have genuinely learned so much and wish everyone all the best.”
In this day of social media blacklisting, it’ll be interesting to see how fans react to his apology, and the whole fiasco, in general. Will they be willing to forgive and forget? Or does Duplass need to formally resign as one half of The Duplass Brothers? We shall see.
— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) July 19, 2018