Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., apologized Friday after she drew bipartisan criticism for sharing an antiMuslim story about Rep. Ilhan Omar , D- Minn., during Thanksgiving break. At an event in her Colorado district, Boebert told of an encounter with Omar — “not my first ‘ Jihad Squad’ moment,” according to a video posted on Twitter. Previously, “I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers,” Boebert told the laughing crowd. “You know, we’re leaving the Capitol and we’re going back to my office and we get an elevator, and I see a Capitol police officer running to the elevator. I see fret all over his face, and he’s reaching, and the door’s shutting, like I can’t open it, like what’s happening. I look to my left, and there she is. Ilhan Omar. And I said, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack, we should be fine.’” Omar on Thursday said the story was made up and called Boebert a “buffoon.” “Anti-Muslim bigotry isn’t funny & shouldn’t be normalized,” Omar said on Twitter. “Congress can’t be a place where hateful and dangerous Muslims tropes get no condemnation.” On Friday, Boebert tweeted a mea culpa: “I apologize to anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar. I have reached out to her office to speak with her directly,” Boebert tweeted. “There are plenty of policy differences to focus on without this unnecessary distraction.”
■ Two Netflix employees who criticized anti-trans gender comments on comedian Dave Chappelle’s recent TV special are dropping their labor complaints, and one has resigned. Terra Field, a senior software engineer who is trans, resigned as of Sunday. “This isn’t how I thought things would end, but I’m relieved to have closure,” Field said in a letter posted online. Chappelle’s “The Closer” first aired Oct. 1 and gained millions of views. However, his disparaging remarks about the transgender community raised protests within Netflix and from activists. About 30 workers staged a walkout and rallied at Netflix offices in Los Angeles. Field and B. Pagels-Minor, a game launch operations program manager who’s also trans, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Netflix retaliated against them to keep them from speaking up about working conditions. “We have resolved our differences in a way that acknowledges the erosion of trust on both sides and, we hope, enables everyone to move on,” Netflix said. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said the company doesn’t allow shows that are “designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe ‘The Closer’ crosses that line.” It remains available for streaming.