Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez Calls Out Colleague Dave Weigel For Sexist Retweet

Brendan Smialowski/ Getty

Washington Post national political reporter Felicia Sonmez called out her colleague Dave Weigel on Friday for retweeting a sexist tweet.

YouTuber Cam Harless posted on June 1, “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.”

Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.

— Cam Harless (@hamcarless) June 2, 2022

Sonmez shared a screenshot of Weigel retweeting Harless’ post and added, “Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!”

Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed! pic.twitter.com/zs4dX4qprH

— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 3, 2022

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle retweeted Sonmez and added, “Or perhaps @daveweigel the correct diagnosis: they’re just not that into you.”

In a reply, Weigel said he “chuckled” at Harless’ tweet, retweeted, then undid the retweet.

“I chuckled at the tweet, RT’d it, then thought – eh, not that funny, so I un-RT’d it,” said Weigel.

I chuckled at the tweet, RT’d it, then thought – eh, not that funny, so I un-RT’d it.

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 3, 2022

In a separate post, Weigel apologized.

“I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm,” he tweeted.

I just removed a retweet of an offensive joke. I apologize and did not mean to cause any harm.

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 3, 2022

Weigel did not respond to a request for comment, while Sonmez declined to comment.

Sonmez previously sued The Washington Post over what she claimed was discrimination against her, saying that senior editors blocked her from covering sexual assault stories because she had publicly spoken about being a sexual assault survivor.

UPDATE 2:15 pm ET: Post spokesperson Kristine Coratti Kelly issued a statement regarding the tweet, “Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.”

WaPo chief spox @kriscoratti issues statement on @daveweigel‘s retweet of a sexist joke, which he has since apologized for: “Editors have made clear to the staff that the tweet was reprehensible and demeaning language or actions like that will not be tolerated.”

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 3, 2022

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