Montreal Gazette sports reporter Herb Zurkowsky tweeted that country music star Shania Twain “looked like a tramp” at the Canadian Football League event called the Grey Cup, where she performed during the half-time show. Later, he tweeted that he “didn’t mean to offend anyone about Shania Twain, but way too much makeup and should have dressed more conservatively.”
Now, both those tweets have been deleted, and Zurkowsky and the Gazette are more fully apologizing for his “sexist, disparaging tweets.” While Zurkowsky’s tweets have been deleted, Flare.com captured images. Vice President of Communications for PostMedia, the Gazette‘s parent company, Phyllise Gelfand told iMediaEthics she had “no way to confirm” the screenshots, but “we’re not disputing it.” According to Gelfand, Zurkowsky “deleted the tweets shortly after posting,” and the Gazette “will not comment on the details of individual employee matters” regarding whether he was disciplined. iMediaEthics has contacted Zurkowsky to verify the tweets as well.
Gelfand also provided a copy of the Nov. 28 print edition, where the apology was run in print on page A2.
(Credit: Gazette)
In a statement on its website, the Gazette apologized and distanced itself from his tweets.
“On Sunday night, Montreal Gazette sports reporter Herb Zurkowsky posted sexist, disparaging tweets about Shania Twain, who was the featured performer at the half-time show at the Grey Cup in Ottawa. Zurkowsky subsequently deleted the tweets and posted an apology on Twitter. The Montreal Gazette would like to publicly apologize to Ms. Twain, its readers and anyone else who came across Zurkowsky’s tweets. His tweets deserve the widespread condemnation they have received and do not reflect the views or values of the Montreal Gazette. In addition to this apology, the Montreal Gazette will further address this incident with Zurkowsky internally.”
Zurkowsky tweeted apologies as well to his nearly 10,000 followers. “I apologize for my insensitive tweet last night,” he wrote Nov. 27. “I’m sorry for the numerous people I offended. I really meant no harm and must learn to keep my mouth shut. I hope people can forgive me. It won’t happen again!” In a second tweet, he wrote, “Once again, I apologize unreservedly for two highly insensitive tweets from last night. They never should have been posted.”