Sean Todd, Vice President of the East Greenwich Town Council, is under fire for a ‘joke’ tweet sent out Saturday during the nationwide Women’s March Protests. The tweet, since deleted, said “Definitely a guy came up with the idea for the #womensmarch perfect way to get the wives outta the house.”
A screenshot of the deleted tweet quickly became viral around East Greenwich and the state. Todd later apologized in a series of tweets.
I’m deeply sorry for my tweet yesterday. Though it was meant as a joke, it was in poor taste, and understandably ended up offending many of
— Sean Todd (@seantodd) January 22, 2017
the people that I’m honored to represent. Yesterday’s march was pretty awesome, and a perfect example of the peaceful expression that is a
— Sean Todd (@seantodd) January 22, 2017
of our democracy. I support all of you who marched, and saw a lot of my friends around the country out there.
— Sean Todd (@seantodd) January 22, 2017
Todd also issued a statement to WPRO’s Tara Granahan on Monday. “After this divisive election cycle, it’s important that we retain our sense of humor,” said Todd. “That’s what I was trying to do. It obviously didn’t work, and for those who feel offended I’m honestly sorry. It wasn’t my intention.”
A protest is planned at tonight’s East Greenwich Town Council Meeting. Hilary Levey Friedman, Chair of the East Greenwich Democratic Town Committee, is an organizer of the “#outtathehouse” Protest.
“Tonight is about people coming together to have an opportunity to express their displeasure with one of our elected officials,” Friedman told Tara Granahan Monday morning. “Part of what we’re seeing in the larger context of our country right now is that people feel that they can say these things. People now feel like they have license to express these opinions that aren’t as socially acceptable, that will offend a lot of people. This is a chance for us to say ‘we’re watching and we see what you’re doing’ and you’re supposed to be held to a higher standard.”
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The story was first reported by Bob Plain from RIFuture.org.