Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
CNN Suspends Roland Martin Over Homophobic Beckham Tweet
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 8, 2012
Modified Feb 8, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 8, 2012
Modified Feb 8, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It took three days, but CNN has succumbed to pressure and suspended commentator Roland Martin after his arguably homophobic Super Bowl tweets about David Beckham's H&M ad. Somehow we don't think this spat is over just yet?
As you'll recall, on Super Bowl sunday H&M ran an ad featuring lots of closeup's of Beckham's body. Like so:
Martin instantaneously responded on Twitter in a tweet that GLAAD and others found offensive. Like so:
And though Roland continued to say it was a misunderstanding and that he just likes to mock soccer players—not to mention that "Based on several tweets I made on my Twitter feed on Super Bowl Sunday yesterday, I have been accused by members of the LGBT community of being supportive of violence against gays and lesbians and bullying. That is furthest from the truth, and I sincerely regret any offense my words have caused."—it doesn't seem to have been enough for CNN (at least for the time being). In a statement the company today said:
Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.
So far, Martin has yet to comment
on the latest development. But he will. That's what commentators do!
Tagged
ads
cnn
controversy
david beckham
glaad
hm
homophobia
roland martin
super bowl
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .