A Washington Post reporter has apologized after he was called out by a female colleague at the newspaper for retweeting a sexist joke.
David Weigel, who covers politics for the Jeff Bezos-owned daily broadsheet, tweeted on Friday that he had removed a post that he retweeted earlier in the day.
Weigel retweeted a post by a Twitter user who wrote: “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.”
Felicia Sonmez, who also covers politics for the Washington Post, was angered by Weigel’s retweet, writing: “Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!”
Weigel later tweeted: “I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.”
Washington Post COO Kris Coratti Kelly told the New York Post: “Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.”
Weigel, 40, is a veteran politics reporter who has worked at Slate and Bloomberg. He joined the Washington Post in 2015.
Sonmez generated headlines in early 2020 when she was suspended by the newspaper for mentioning a rape allegation against NBA superstar Kobe Bryant just hours after the Lakers great, his daughter, and seven others perished in a helicopter crash.
After her Washington Post colleagues protested the suspension, Sonmez was reinstated.
Last year, Sonmez sued the Washington Post, claiming she was the victim of discrimination after the newspaper barred her from covering high-profile cases involving sexual misconduct.
In 2018, Sonmez, who at the time was working as an editor at the Wall Street Journal, alleged that a then-Los Angeles Times reporter, Jonathan Kaiman, 31, groped her and sexually assaulted her in Beijing.
The Washington Post barred Sonmez from covering sex assault cases because the newspaper felt there was a conflict of interest.
DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein ruled in favor of the newspaper and tossed Sonmez’s lawsuit.