Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf receives death threats after criticising Mike Pence
Wolf accidentally misspoke and claimed Pence would put LGBT people in "concentration camps"
Pulse nightclub survivor Brandon Wolf has been receiving death threats after misspeaking about Vice President Mike Pence.
The 29-year-old has been speaking out against anti-LGBT violence and made an appearance on Joy Reid’s AM Joy in which he made comments about Vice President Mike Pence, saying he would put LGBT people in “concentration camps hoping to pray the gay away” if he became president.
Shortly after his appearance on the show, Wolf stated on Twitter on Sunday (April 29) that he had misused the term “concentration camps” and had actually meant conversion therapy camps.
On Monday (April 30), during his Tucker Carlson Tonight show, the Fox News host slammed the Pulse survivor for his comments and accused him of hypocrosy for appearing on Joy Reid’s AM Joy on MSNBC after she sparked outrage when a series of old homophobic and transphobic blog posts were discovered.
Following Carlson’s show, Wolf began to receive tweets from viewers wishing him to die and endorsing the idea of concentration camps for LGBT people, MetroWeekly reports.
LGBT organisation GLAAD issued a statement over the abuse, accusing Carlson of “inciting violence against Wolf” and criticising him for not telling fans to stop the online abuse. It read: “Sometimes when you’re on national TV, you misspeak.
“In fact, Brandon Wolf already clarified that he meant to say that Vice President Pence wants to send LGBTQ people to conversion therapy camps on MSNBC, but he misspoke and said concentration. Instead of giving Brandon Wolf the benefit of the doubt or the tiniest bit of empathy, Tucker Carlson and Fox News Channel went all in.”
Meanwhile, Wolf himself has addressed the controversy in an op-ed for The Hornet, writing: “For most folks, that kind of relentless barrage would be too much to take.
“The unending flow of profanity-laced Facebook comments and violent Twitter threats would force most people to shut off their phones and call up their therapists. But the sad reality is, this is everyday life in the LGBTQ community.
“Gay youth face bullies like Carlson every day int he hallways of their schools. They stare down that same sinister smirk from teachers and parents who would also laugh at their trauma and pain. To be LGBTQ in America is to be laughed at when your friends are gunned down.
“To have death threats hurled your way when you dare to speak your mind. To be LGBTQ in America is to be vilified for having an opinion while those charged with running the country put their hatred on parade.”
Carlson also issued a statement on the controversy, saying: “Brandon Wolf told MSNBC viewers that if Mike Pence became president, he would put people in concentration camps. That is false, and I said so.
“I fact-checked a talking head on Joy Reid’s show who was lying. That’s still allowed, I think.”