Paige Spiranac issues blunt response to golfer Justin Thomas’ homophobic slur

Instagram star Paige Spiranac has spoken out against golfer Justin Thomas’ homophobic slur, arguing certain words can’t be tolerated.

Paige Spiranac spoke out in response to golf star Justin Thomas’ use of a homophobic slur, tweeting: “There are certain words that should not be said or tolerated.”

Thomas, who finished third in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, over the weekend, called himself a homophobic slur after missing a putt. The 27-year-old golfer later apologised.

“I screwed up,” Thomas told Golf Digest. “I have to be better. I will be better. I deeply apologise to everybody and anybody who was offended.”

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On Monday (AEDT) former pro golfer turned Instagram influencer Spiranac responded to a Twitter user who had commented on Thomas’ apology.

“You want hot mics this is what you get. Raw emotion. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. Don’t watch if you get triggered by everything,” the commenter wrote.

Spiranac replied: “You can give raw emotion without being racist or homophobic. There are certain words that should not be said or tolerated. He should not be cancelled and I’m glad he apologised. But no one should ever defend the word he used.”

Justin Thomas of the United States.

Spiranac also reacted to another commenter who tweeted: “He said a bad word directed at nobody in a heated moment. He shouldn’t have said it, but trying to draw conclusions on who he is as a person is nuts. If someone is that deeply offended by this, that’s an issue in itself.”

She posted: “As a straight man you have no right to say it’s not offensive. No one is trying to cancel him but that word is offensive and should NEVER be used. End of discussion.”

As a straight man you have no right to say it’s not offensive. No one is trying to cancel him but that word is offensive and should NEVER be used. End of discussion

— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) January 10, 2021

Thomas said the incident was a “distraction” as the tournament came to a close.

“Golf wasn’t the main thing on my mind. Usually being four back going into Sunday I’m thinking about one thing and one thing only and that’s trying to win the golf tournament,” Thomas told the Golf Channel.

“Obviously had a lot of other things on my mind last night. I mean, I apologised yesterday. I don’t need to explain myself. I clearly screwed up. I made a terrible, terrible judgment call.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Paige Spiranac issues blunt response to golfer Justin Thomas’ homophobic slur