Mark Duplass, a 47-year-old indie film actor and producer from Louisiana, was basically forced into apologizing for recommending Ben Shapiro’s podcast as a way for liberals to reach across the aisle.
In a now-deleted tweet, Duplass told his liberal followers that they should follow Ben Shapiro if they are interested in “crossing the aisle” because he is a “genuine person” who “doesn’t bend the truth.”
Mark Duplass deleted his Ben Shapiro endorsement but he has been on this path for a while. pic.twitter.com/pURa2O6m6z
— ishmael n. daro (@iD4RO) July 18, 2018
That was a noble attempt at bipartisanship and civility. Of course, the Left couldn’t wrap their heads around it.
In a later tweet, Duplass issued a lengthy, and somewhat empty, apology, calling his statement a “disaster on many levels” while also saying he still believes "deeply in bi-partisan understanding" and will "continue to do [his] best to promote peace and decency."
— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) July 19, 2018
Indiewire reported that Duplass experienced a lot of backlash for endorsing Shapiro because of his “history of publishing racist tweets” citing a controversial tweet about Trayvon Martin.
James Gunn, writer of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, defended Duplass on Twitter, saying, “There are a lot of traitors & racists in the country today. Perhaps save the outrage for them.”
Maybe you disagree with Mark Duplass, which is completely fair (personally I think even Ben Shapiro's mother should unfollow him). But that doesn't make Duplass' point-of-view evil. There are a lot of traitors & racists in the country today. Perhaps save the outrage for them. 1
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 18, 2018
David French, writing for the National Review, addressed the leftist hypocrisy, saying, “I’m sorry, but this is pitiful. Truly pitiful. And it was accompanied, as it always is, by progressives assuring us that, no, we do want to hear from conservatives, just not that conservative.”