by
Charlie LeDuff
The Detroit News has fired weekly columnist Charlie LeDuff, a Pulitzer Prize winner, after he made a coded reference on social media to the word "cunt" aimed at Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Metro Times reports.
Reporter Steve Neavling writes:
LeDuff came under fire over the weekend for telling Nessel in a tweet, “See you next Tuesday,” a backronym for the word “cunt.” It’s often written, “C U Next Tuesday.””
In an email to reporters on Saturday, Detroit News editor and publisher Gary Miles said LeDuff had been fired.
“While we stand by the journalism that we have published under his byline, I could not envision moving forward with his weekly column in light of recent events,” Miles wrote.
LeDuff tells the Metro Times that he wasn't going to apologize, saying he thought what he said was clever.
“I’m not apologizing. I have nothing to apologize for. … I stand by it. I said something clever on my own space because I am fucking pissed.”
It all began when LeDuff wrote an Oct. 17 column saying the attorney general breached an internal legal firewall while her office investigated attorney Traci Kornak, a Nessel friend, for alleged billing irregularities involving a West Michigan patient. Nessel, LeDuff noted in his column, did not respond to messages for comment before publication.
After publication, Nessel pushed back in a press release accusing LeDuff of "several inaccurate claims." Editor Miles in turn defended LeDuff in a column.
That's when LeDuff, 57, posted his controversial comment.
After that, Detroit News Political editor Chad Livengood posted on X, formerly Twitter.
This is disgusting and reprehensible.@Charlieleduff should do us all a favor and resign. https://t.co/cXUS1kNgH5
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) October 21, 2023
LeDuff, an author of multiple books, worked for the New York Times, where he was a part of a group of reporters who won Pulitzer Prizes. He then worked at the Detroit News before working as an investigatie reporter for Fox 2.
After that, he worked as a weekly columnist for Deadline Detroit for about four years, before returning to the Detroit News to write a column.
LeDuff has a podcast, "The No BS News Hour with Charlie LeDuff," which produces weekly shows. Guest have included Chris Cuomo and RFK Jr.
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