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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is under fire for using insults against a conservative commentator that critics have blasted as homophobic.
The governor’s press office replied Wednesday to a post from Benny Johnson regarding reports of alleged fraud in California. Newsom’s office responded with a message claiming Johnson and his team were frequent users of Grindr, a popular LGBTQ+ dating app.
“We got a call from Grindr after this and said your team was their biggest users. Congrats!” Newsom’s office wrote.
It is not the first time the governor’s team has used the app as a punchline. In January, Newsom’s office responded to another of Johnson’s posts, writing, “We’ll make sure Grindr servers are ready…” in response to Johnson saying his team would be traveling to California to investigate fraud.
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There is also a third reference in which his office posted, “bro, we get it but he’s not interested… stick to Grindr.”
Critics online have blasted the posts as disparaging to the gay community. Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, called out the governor for using “homosexuality as a slur.”
“It’s so odd to see the former mayor of the most gay-friendly city in America, San Francisco, use homosexuality as a slur. Weird!” Dhillon wrote on X.
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Newsom’s office defended the posts and mocked the backlash in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, “We love gay people, and it’s very woke of you to ask about this! We’re sorry some conservative snowflakes had their feelings hurt. We hope they recover!”
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Johnson responded directly to Newsom on Wednesday, accusing the governor of attacking journalists to distract from state failures.
“Your reaction to journalists exposing fraud in your state is to smear us with lies — never to fix the fraud,” Johnson wrote.
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“Americans hate fraud, Gavin. We’re tired of being ripped off. Stop attacking the people who are doing YOUR job and trying to end fraud. People are over it,” he added on X.
The social media spat comes as the House Oversight Committee continues an investigation into reports of widespread hospice fraud throughout California.
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