Veteran reporter and frequent MSNBC guest Elizabeth Drew is slammed for ‘sickening’ tweet mocking the murder of British lawmaker David Amess who was stabbed to death in terror attack
- The 85-year-old liberal columnist, who frequently appears as an MSNBC guest tweeted a tasteless joke referring to the murdered MP’s last name
- ‘A perfect last name for a pol who’s stabbed at a town meeting. British lawmaker dies after being stabbed multiple times while meeting with constituents, police say David Amess,’ Drew tweeted Friday morning
- Sir David, 69, was murdered on Friday by a crazed knifeman while he held a meeting with his constituents in a church in Essex
- Shortly after receiving backlash for her insensitive post the reporter took down the tweet. ‘Apols for a lapse. Tweet deleted,’ the 85-year-old wrote
- But Drew’s apology came too late as she was met with harsh criticism from those who found it tasteless
Liberal reporter Elizabeth Drew is facing backlash over a now-deleted tweet which mocked the killing of British conservative politician Davis Amess, just hours after he was stabbed to death at a meeting with his constituents.
The 85-year-old columnist, who frequently appears as an MSNBC guest and has written columns for the New York Times, The Daily Beast and Vanity Fair, tweeted a tasteless joke referring to the murdered MP’s last name.
‘A perfect last name for a pol who’s stabbed at a town meeting. British lawmaker dies after being stabbed multiple times while meeting with constituents, police say David Amess,’ Drew tweeted Friday morning.
Sir David, 69, was murdered on Friday by a crazed knifeman while he held a meeting with his constituents in a church in Essex, England.
Shortly after receiving backlash for her insensitive post the reporter took down the tweet.
‘Apols for a lapse. Tweet deleted,’ the 85-year-old wrote.
85-year-old liberal columnist Elizabeth Drew, (left) who frequently appears as an MSNBC guest tweeted a tasteless joke hours after British politician David Amess (right) was killed
But her apology came too late as she was met with harsh criticism from those who found it tasteless.
‘Elizabeth ‘Drew’ much attention to herself by tweeting a disgusting message regarding the death/murder of a human being,’ one person tweeted.
‘@VanityFair horrified at Elizabeth Drew’s tweet about a friend of mine being murdered today. Sickening!,’ another person tweeted.
Someone else tweeted: ‘She presumably meant he – lying there having been stabbed to death – was ‘a mess’. There are some abhorrent people out there with strange attitudes masquerading as their humour. Elizabeth Drew is one.’
Officials said Amess’s murder is being treated as a terror attack ‘linked to Islamist extremism’.
Cops have raided two homes in London and a British Muslim man of Somali descent is in police custody.
It is believed the attacker acted alone, and investigators are not looking for anyone else in connection but enquiries continue.
A much-loved MP and a proud father of five, Sir David gave away his daughter Alex, 31, in marriage just weeks ago.
The shocking attack, which came five years after the murder of MP Jo Cox, ignited a row over the protection of parliamentarians.
British home Secretary Priti Patel responded by ordering an immediate review of security arrangements.
MI5 are also said to be taking part in the investigation and will be looking into whether the suspect was known to authorities through the anti-terror PREVENT scheme.
Yesterday the family of Mrs Cox, who was shot and stabbed outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, by a Right-wing terrorist in June 2016, said Sir David’s murder was an ‘attack on democracy itself’.
Mrs Cox’s husband Brendan said: ‘Attacking our elected representatives is an attack on democracy itself.
‘There is no excuse, no justification. It is as cowardly as it gets.’