A Canadian MP has been forced to apologise after referring to a female minister as “climate Barbie” on Twitter.
Gerry Ritz sparked outrage on social media after he made the comment about Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna.
Mr Ritz was replying to a tweet linking to a climate report when he wrote: “Has anyone told our climate Barbie!” The tweet was then deleted.
Ms McKenna, who is also a gender equality campaigner, hit back at the post, saying Mr Ritz’s words were “sexist” and asking if he’d speak about any of his female family members in that way.
The MP sent the tweet in reference to a report about major industrialised nations not meeting the targets set by the Paris climate-change accord.
Ms Mckenna later retweeted two posts which branded the Barbie comment a “sexist garbage label” and spoke about a “repellent sexist campaign” against her.
Canada’s Minister of National Defence said Mr Ritz’s words were “unacceptable”:
While the Associate Minister of National Defence branded the Barbie comment “shameful”:
Catherine McKenna thanked her followers for their support, adding that it “matters that you call people out”:
Mr Ritz has since apologised for the comment, tweeting: "I apologise for the use of Barbie, it is not reflective of the role the Minister plays".
Read More
MORE ABOUT