Conservative Pundit Ben Shapiro Apologizes For Racist Columbus Day Video
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Aiden Pink October 10, 2017
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro issued an apology after his website published a video mocking Native Americans on Columbus Day.
Shapiro said the video was created and posted without his knowledge while he was on vacation.
“I was uncomfortable with the video, but in the interests of giving my employees the benefit of the doubt — and in the interests of defending satire more broadly — I decided to leave the video up,” he wrote on Tuesday. “That was a mistake, and I apologize fully for it.”
The video, which featured Native Americans staring in awe as Christopher Columbus eats with a knife and fork, has been removed from the social media of the Daily Wire, Shapiro’s conservative news and commentary website.
The liberal website Salon called the video “boundlessly racist.” Shapiro had originally defended it, writing, “Conservatives are allowed to make satire too.”
But he had a change of heart around 24 hours later. “In my opinion, it was bad satire,” he wrote. “It did not fulfill my editorial guidelines. It skipped over the grave injustices visited upon Native Americans, and it engaged in broad-based stereotyping.”
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
