Actress Debra Messing doubles down on hoping Trump is the ‘most popular boyfriend in prison’
Actress Debra Messing apologized on Monday after she was blasted for a social media post wishing violence on President Trump. Actually, it was much more of a clarification by Messing who claimed that her ill-will was not homophobic. She then proceeded to double down on praying for the commander in chief to be imprisoned and raped in a tweet to her more than 677,000 followers.
Many Twitter users slammed the scathing attack, branding it homophobic, ignorant, and disturbing.
In a tweet last week, Messing responded to a note from World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praising German Chancellor Angela Merkel for urging Germans to stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“AMERICA. THIS is a LEADER,” she exclaimed.
The actress tweeted out her hatred toward Trump: “@realDonaldTrump you are a weak, scared, stupid, inept, negligent, vindictive, narcissistic, criminal. I hope you live a long life in prison where you become the most popular boyfriend to the all inmates.”
A number of critics labeled the “proud and open LGBT activist” as delivering what they referred to as a “homophobic insult.”
Messing then tried to define what she actually meant by tweeting: “Let me be clear: I said nothing about LGBTQI/queer LOVE. Rape is an act of violence. Trump has perpetrated violence on hundreds of millions of people. My hope is (and this is the first time in my life) that the tables are turned and he is the victim of perpetrators.” She added the hashtag, #LGBTQIAAlly.”
I'd like to say I have been an LGBTQIA ally for decades, and I was in no way referencing LGBTQI/queer love/sexuality. It is not my proudest moment, but 45 has victimized 100s of millions of ppl; I had wished the tables turned on him. I apologize for the offensive way I did it. https://t.co/Q6SLIo9DWc
— Debra Messing✍? (@DebraMessing) December 14, 2020
More backlash ensued. The Washington Examiner’s Jerry Dunleavy tweeted, “Debra Messing’s clarification here is her saying she has nothing against gay men — she just hopes Trump gets raped in prison.”
Debra Messing’s clarification here is her saying she has nothing against gay men — she just hopes Trump gets raped in prison. https://t.co/1ARnQOulCI
— Jerry Christmas, B.A. (@JerryDunleavy) December 14, 2020
Among the more high-profile critics was Chad Felix Greene, author of the book Without Context: Evaluating the Anti-LGBT Claims Against the Trump Administration.
“I’m a gay man who was infected with HIV from rape,” Greene tweeted.
“If your mind and soul are this small, hateful and petty, you have no place to pretend you are a good person.”
“Exploiting this trauma to perpetuate your insane irrational hallucinations and profound ignorance is offensive.”
He also went on to tweet: “You imagined all of this. All of it.”
“You have marinated yourself in hatred for 4 years until you can only think in hateful, shallow and profoundly cruel ways, justified by this fantasy of fighting evil.”
“Step back and consider the amount of hate in *your* heart over politics.”
You imagined all of this.
All of it.You have marinated yourself in hatred for 4 years until you can only think in hateful, shallow and profoundly cruel ways, justified by this fantasy of fighting evil.
Step back and consider the amount of hate in *your* heart over politics. https://t.co/uiJjEDe5BV
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) December 15, 2020
The Hill described Messing as “one of Hollywood’s most vocal Trump critics,” and pointed out that in 2019, “Trump said that NBC should fire her after its star said the names of the commander in chief’s donors who attended a fundraiser should be publicly identified.”
In September of 2019, Messing supported her “Will & Grace” co-star Eric McCormack when he melted down Twitter by publicly stating that he would no longer work with Trump supporters, and asked to be informed who would be in attendance at a fundraiser for the president in Beverly Hills.
“Hey, [THR], kindly report on everyone attending this event, so the rest of us can be clear about who we don’t wanna work with. Thx,” tweeted McCormack.
Messing then demanded to know the names of those in attendance at the fundraiser, effectively supporting a blacklist against people who think differently from her. “Please print a list of all attendees please. The public has a right to know,” she tweeted.
After massive blowback, both McCormack and Messing semi-retracted their statements, accusing their critics of misinterpreting them.
“I want to be clear about my social media post from last week, which has been misinterpreted in a very upsetting way. I absolutely do not support blacklists or discrimination of any kind, as anyone who knows me would attest. I’d simply like to understand where Trump’s major donations are coming from, which is a matter of public record. I am holding myself responsible for making educated and informed decisions that I can morally and ethically stand by and to do that, transparency is essential,” wrote McCormack on Instagram.
Messing later tweeted her co-star’s message alongside the caption, “I couldn’t have said it better.”
Messing earned her fame on the sitcom “Will & Grace.” The show was considered groundbreaking for featuring a gay character in a leading role. It ran for eight seasons and was re-upped in 2017. Its second run ended earlier this year.
