'Do you think the camp uniforms will be striped, like the ones at Auschwitz': Food Network host Alton Brown is forced to apologize for joking about the Holocaust in tweets about the state of the country
Food Network host Alton Brown apologized on Wednesday for joking about the Holocaust in a series of tweets.
Brown, 58, claims he made the now-deleted concentration camp comments because he is 'deeply frightened' over the current state of the country and claimed that the Holocaust reference was not meant for 'humorous effect'.
The 'Good Eats' star was condemned for the comments and for the apology, which some fans believed was inadequate, telling him to 'think deeper before you speak'.
The TV personality already came under fire on social media on Monday for hitting out at the Republican Party and suggesting they abandon Trump, stating they should 'get their collective noses out of that man's a**'.
Food Network host Alton Brown apologized on Wednesday over social media comments in which joked about concentration camps in the United States
He claimed that he only made the comments to 'reflect how truly frightened I am'
Brown, who has 4.5 million followers, made the Holocaust comments on Tuesday night as he spoke about the current state of the U.S. election.
'So, when they move us to the camps, do you think they'll let us choose the state? I'm going to ask for Kansas because the sky is so gorgeous there… over the wheat,' he first wrote to Twitter.
'I'm going to hope for Key West, I don't do well with the cold. Also, you guys think I'm kidding,' he added.
The bizarre Twitter tirade continued with Brown asking: 'Do you think the camp uniforms will be striped, like the ones at Auschwitz or will plaid be in vogue?'
He later added that he had 'no gold fillings' when a Twitter user said that his uniform would depend on his personal wealth.
Brown went on the bizarre Twitter tirade on Tuesday night but has since deleted it
'Good luck everybody,' the tweets continued.
'I'm going to make a run for it … Do you guys think votes actually matter here #sad'.
Brown was initially unrepentant about his words. When another Twitter user replied, 'Yikes dude. Take it easy,' Brown responded with a blunt 'F*** you.'
Yet the criticism kept coming as even other food writers spoke out.
'If you have to dig in other people's graveyards for references of pain to relate your discomfort to an oppression you've never really known by a longshot, just keep your mouth shut and think deeper before you speak,' offered food writer Michael Twitty.
'As a (formerly) religious Good Eats viewer who owns all three cookbooks, @altonbrown coming out as a lifelong Republican was bad enough... But Holocaust jokes? Really?' added Twitter account @yesyoureracist.
Others claimed it was not offensive and that it should serve as a check on the administration.
'I thought it was fine and I'm the descendant of Holocaust victims & survivors. We can never forget what happened. We must constantly check that this administration doesn't do it again,' wrote @Luindriel.
Brown even hit out at Twitter users who told him to calm down before deleting the tweets
Some Twitter users thought Brown has nothing to apologize for
Brown was eventually forced to apologize and delete the tweets as the backlash continued.
'I apologize for the flippant reference I made to the Holocaust in my tweet last night,' he wrote.
'It was not a reference I made for humorous effect but rather to reflect how deeply frightened I am for our country. It was a very poor use of judgement and in poor taste.'
His apology was welcomed by fans with one named Gabe Girwan thanking him for 'owning up to your mistake'.
'As the grandson of a holocaust survivor and huge fan of yours, I appreciate that. Many of us were hurt and offended, for me, it was difficult to reconcile with my long-standing respect and appreciation for your work. we are all fearful of the division and hate in this country,' wrote David Tiecher.
Yet even his apology was not accepted by some.
'Which one? Because there were actually several,' asked Erin Biba. 'And as a Jew whose family was massacred in the Holocaust, this is horrifically offensive. And does absolutely not fit with the idea that you were trying to reflect being frightened.'
Even after his apology, the backlash against Brown continued through Wednesday
Others welcomed Brown's apology and him deleting the tweets, pictured
'It was several. Not one,' echoed a Twitter user named Erin.
'You stooped to even joking that you weren't worth much because you didn't have gold fillings, something that actually happened to Holocaust victims, Alton. I'm terrified of what's happening, too, but you stooped so low. It's not a joke.'
Others called on Brown to take a break from social media as it was the second controversy over his tweets to emerge just this week.
American television personality Alton Brown was faced with backlash twice this week over some controversial tweets
On Monday, Brown had come under fire for his comments about the Republican party, stating that he had at times voted for GOP candidates, but that Trump needed to go.
'I have voted Republican most of my life. I consider myself a conservative. I want to believe there are still "very fine" people on both sides of the aisle,' he wrote in a tweet on Monday, according to the New York Daily News, referencing a contentious line President Trump uttered in 2017.
'But...if #GOP leaders don't get their collective noses out of that man's a--, we're gonna have words.'
One fan replied: 'And I really liked and still like your shows. You made me a better and more adventurous cook. I'm not angry.... just incredibly disappointed.'
In this instance, Brown was also not immediately willing to back down.
'Frankly, you have no right to be disappointed in me. None whatsoever. I have used my own platform to speak my mind. You may dislike me, certainly but disappointment in me should be reserved for say...bad recipes,' he hit back.
On Tuesday, Brown clarified his comments to Newsweek stating that he had 'voted Republican in previous years,' but he both 'voted for and strongly support[s]' Biden and Kamala Harris, along with Georgia Democratic Senate candidates Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
'It's time for decency and unity to trump tribalism, racism, and disinformation,' he concluded.
One Twitter user said he was disappointed to know that Brown voted for Republicans
Brown again hit back and said that he was entitled to his own political opinions
Again, some fans felt that his clarification wasn't enough.
'As someone who used to wake up early Saturday morning to watch good eats, as someone whose life was immeasurably shaped by your show and the way you approached food, as someone who as looked up to you since a child, and as a gay woman, I can't express how disappointing this is,' one Twitter user said of the news that he has voted Republican.
'That's too bad to hear, the Republican party started running on a campaign of hate long before Trump, and that's what made him even a viable option for them. Disappointing to hear that it took an actual fascist for you to understand that,' another wrote.
Other Republicans welcomed the comments, however.
'I'm so glad you are one of the good ones. We need good conservatives to be vocal, because they aren't going to listen to anyone else,' wrote Stephen Basile.
This is not the first time that the 'Iron Chef America' presenter has been criticized for whom he shows his allegiance to either.
Several of his fans were disappointed to learn that he voted for Republicans on occasion
Others welcomed him as a 'good conservative' and 'one of the good ones'
Food writer Allison Robicelli also condemned Brown this week for his support of Jeff Smith, the late cookbook author who was accused of sexual abuse by seven young men, pictured
Food writer Allison Robicelli on Tuesday highlighted how in an appendix to one of his books, Brown praised Jeff Smith, the late cookbook author who was accused of sexual abuse by seven young men while they were teenagers, according to Eater.
Brown wrote that he didn't 'care what [Smith] does or did in his personal life. Everything in here worked back then and still does.'
'I was a huge Good Eats fan when it debuted and blame it for my entire career. Took a class with AB at Sur La Table when his book came out and read it like the Bible,' Robicelli claimed.
'Then I got to the appendix and was never the same. For the youngins, 'what he does' was molesting children.'
According to Eater, Brown has also spoken out as a defender of the second amendment and told the New York Times in 2015, he sometimes carries a gun because he has an office in 'a questionable part of town'.
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