Josh Rivers, the newly appointed editor of LGBT magazine Gay Times, has been fired effective immediately after several posts made by him surfaced involving racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, ableist comments among many other things.
The publication announced that it had let Rivers go on Thursday morning following a suspension on Wednesday.
“After an investigation of the facts surrounding historical tweets by Josh Rivers, the newly appointed Editor of Gay Times magazine; we announce that his employment has been terminated with immediate effect,” it said in a recent statement. “We sincerely apologise for the offence that has been caused, particularly to those members of our wider community to whom such inappropriate and unacceptable commentary was the focus.
“Gay Times does not tolerate such views and will continue to strive to honour and promote inclusivity,” the magazine added.
BuzzFeed News made the discovery following the publication’s invitation to interview Rivers. The incredibly racist, insensitive comments were reportedly posted between 2010 and 2015 on Twitter.
In one of Rivers’ series of inappropriate tweets, the former marketing manager of Gay Times targeted Asian men. In the Jan. 7, 2011 post, he wrote, “The creepiest gay men are short, old Asian men with long nails. Fact.”
In another post, he deliberately described two Chinese people who sat next to him during the 2012 Olympics in London, England, as “sneaky f****” after he didn’t see them sitting beside him while he “screamed ‘we just shat all over china’” during a competition.
Then, in another tweet, he wrote, “Long day. How would I type that with Chinese accent? Wong way?”
After his past racist tirade on social media resurfaced, Gay Times officially announced on its Twitter account the immediate suspension of Rivers as the magazine’s editor. The magazine wrote in its statement:
“Josh Rivers’ past tweets do not align with the values of Gay Times, or any of our employees, in any capacity.
Josh has been suspended with immediate effect while we investigate the facts. Appropriate action will be taken in due course.”
Rivers, meanwhile, has sent out an apology letter on his Twitter to those who have been offended and hurt by his Twitter posts.
Upon searching, it seems like most, if not all, offensive tweets from Rivers have since been removed as of this writing.
Featured Images via Twitter / Josh Rivers
