Following the backlash after President Donald Trump tweeted his GIF wrestling CNN, the Reddit user behind the GIF issued an apology Tuesday for the video and other offensive content he posted, CNN reports.
The GIF was first shared last week Wednesday by Reddit user “HanA**holeSolo”. It showed the president punching a wrestler continuously with the CNN logo imposed on his face. It was this GIF that was later edited into a video and tweeted from the President’s personal account.
The User apologised Tuesday writing in a lengthy post on Reddit that he was not encouraging violence against the press and expressed remorse for his other racist posts. He also deleted all his other posts from Reddit.
“First of all, I would like to apologize to the members of the reddit community for getting this site and this sub embroiled in a controversy that should never have happened,” he wrote. “I would also like to apologize for the posts made that were racist, bigoted, and anti-semitic. I am in no way this kind of person, I love and accept people of all walks of life and have done so for my entire life. I am not the person that the media portrays me to be in real life, I was trolling and posting things to get a reaction from the subs on reddit and never meant any of the hateful things I said in those posts. I would never support any kind of violence or actions against others simply for what they believe in, their religion, or the lifestyle they choose to have. Nor would I carry out any violence against anyone based upon that or support anyone who did.”“The meme was created purely as satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation, I had no idea anyone would take it and put sound to it and then have it put up on the President’s Twitter feed. It was a prank, nothing more. What the President’s feed showed was not the original post that was posted here, but loaded up somewhere else and sound added to it then sent out on Twitter. I thought it was the original post that was made and that is why I took credit for it. I have the highest respect for the journalist community and they put their lives on the line every day with the jobs that they do in reporting the news.”
And as a message to internet trolls,
“To people who troll on the Internet for fun, consider your words and actions conveyed in your message and who it might upset or anger,” he wrote. “Put yourself in their shoes before you post it. If you have a problem with trolling it is an addiction just like any other addiction someone can have to something and don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Trolling is nothing more than bullying a wide audience. Don’t feed your own self-worth based upon inflicting suffering upon others online just because you are behind a keyboard.”
Following the president’s tweet, Sunday, “HanA**holeSolo” posted on Reddit that he was “honored,” “Holy s—!! I wake up and have my morning coffee and who retweets my s—post but the MAGA EMPORER himself!!! I am honored!!” he wrote.
According to CNN HanA**holeSolo” asked to not be named out of fear for his personal safety and for the public embarrassment, it would bring to his person and family.
President Trump is yet to issue an apology for the offensive tweet.
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