Jacob Bernstein, a features writer for the New York Times, admitted Tuesday on Twitter that he called First Lady Melania Trump a "hooker" and offered an extended apology for his remark.
American supermodel and actress Emily Ratajkowski on Monday castigated an unnamed New York Times reporter–who is now known to be Bernstein–after she overheard him call the first lady a "hooker" at an event Sunday night.
Ratajkowski called the comments "disgusting sexist bullshit."
Hours later, on Monday night, Trump publicly applauded Ratajkowski for standing up for her, saying it deserves a shout out when women support other women.
Bernstein came out on Twitter the following day to take responsibility for his comments, saying that he thought it was part of a personal conversation and not meant to be public.
He acknowledged that his editors did speak to and reprimand him for his ugly remark about the first lady.
The Times writer also blamed "unfounded rumors" for his unsubstantiated claim.
This is a four part tweet. 1. I want to take ownership of a mistake I made.
— Jacob Bernstein (@BernsteinJacob) February 14, 2017
2. Speaking at a party in what I thought was a personal conversation, I nevertheless made a stupid remark about the first lady.
— Jacob Bernstein (@BernsteinJacob) February 14, 2017
3. My editors have made it clear my behavior was not in keeping with the standards of the Times, and I agree.
— Jacob Bernstein (@BernsteinJacob) February 14, 2017
4. My mistake, referring to unfounded rumors, shouldn’t reflect on anyone else and I apologize profusely.
— Jacob Bernstein (@BernsteinJacob) February 14, 2017