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Last night, Ruban Nielson, of critically acclaimed Portland psych-pop band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, went on Twitter and, well, things got messy.
.@Caitlyn_Jenner hows it hanging, Bruce
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
Uh oh.
As you can imagine, the backlash from his 60,000 followers was immediate. He didn't provide a whole lot of context for his highlarious dig at the most visible member of the transgender community. But as his mentions piled up, Nielson intimated that it was a reaction to Jenner's recent tacit endorsement of Ted Cruz, who doesn't exactly have the most stellar record when it comes to LGBTQ issues.
And also he was drunk.
Im just angry about America, leave me alone. You're more problematic than me
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
relax, Caitlyn don't give a fuck about the LGBT community
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
@effemaral look I understand. Im drunk and angry. I'm by no means perfect. That's where it is
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
I was mad that she sold out the community that fostered her. Bring on your education
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
@Blaquechris I feel she doesn't deserve to be trans coz she's a fuckin sell-out that's all
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
Nielson then went on an hours-long apology spree/shame spiral, while also RTing messages supporting his more nuanced point of "fuck Caitlyn Jenner."
— UMO (@UMO) March 4, 2016
So, what did we all learn?
•You're free to decry a trans person's hypocritical (and, frankly, confounding) politics, but please do so without misgendering and demeaning them with a shitty, fourth-grade-level joke.
•You should never, ever Tweet while "drunk" and/or angry, especially if you're in a pretty popular band.
•Kanye-Deadmau5 is still the week's best Twitter beef.
Willamette Week
