Gov. Gavin Newsom has earned widespread ire for hurling another homophobic insult at a conservative influencer.
The governor’s press office replied to a post from Benny Johnson saying Newsom should be “terrified” about fraud investigations in his state.
“We got a call from Grindr after this and said your team was their biggest users. Congrats!” Newsom’s press office wrote in response.
It’s at least the third time Newsom’s office has referenced Grindr — the dating app for gay, bisexual and transgender people — in a post targeting his critics.
The governor earned swift backlash for the remarks, including from Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department.
“It’s so odd to see the former mayor of the most gay-friendly city in America, San Francisco, use homosexuality as a slur,” she wrote on X. “Weird!”
“Gavin Newsom’s press people regularly and casually use homosexuality as a way of shaming and demeaning or mocking,” another wrote.
Johnson himself responded directly to Newsom’s office, accusing the governor of insulting journalists who expose fraud in California.
“Your reaction to journalists exposing fraud in your state is to smear us with lies — never to fix the fraud,” he wrote on X. “Americans hate fraud, Gavin. We’re tired of being ripped off. Stop attacking the people who are doing YOUR job and trying to end fraud. People are over it.”
The governor’s office brushed off allegations that the post was homophobic, adding that they “love” gay people.
“We love gay people and it’s very woke of you to ask about this! We’re sorry some conservative snowflakes had their feelings hurt,” it told The Daily Mail. “We hope they recover!”
Newsom has slammed Johnson in a similar fashion in the past.
“We’ll make sure Grindr servers are ready…” his office wrote in reaction to Johnson saying his team was traveling to California.
Newsom’s press office has a reputation for being aggressive, often mimicking President Trump’s all-caps Truth Social posts or mimicking his language.
The California Post contacted Newsom’s office for comment.
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