On Wednesday, Columbia University terminated its psychiatry department chair after he posted a racially insensitive retweet about the South Sudanese model Nyakim GatwatchHuffington Post reports.
Jeffrey Lieberman Vagelos is not the head of the department of psychiatry at Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons nor the psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, shared with Columbia faculty and staff by email and NBC News have been obtained.
According to NBC News, Lieberman’s ending was fast and furious after he made comments about Gatwatch, writing: “Whether a work of art or a whims of nature it is a beautiful sight to behold”.
Lieberman saw his comment on Gatwatch’s black skin in a photo another user posted and viewed as outrageous Specified him as an “it”. The photo claims Gatwatch is listed in the Guinness World Records as the darkest skin tone on the planet; However, Guinness refuses to set any record-keeping on the basis of skin tone.
A highly respected psychotherapist, Lieberman deleted the tweet and apologized for posting such an offensive.
“Tweet deleted. My sincere apologies for any offense and indiscretion. Live and learn,” he wrote, but not before Twitter users took screenshots of his comments. Lieberman later closed his account .
Gatwatch blasted her views as “straight-up racism,” she told NBC New York.
He added the tweet to his Instagram page and posted, “Coming from someone with so much strength, it was so disappointing.”
Members of the medical community did not shy away from condemning his comments. Especially when Lieberman ranks so high in one of the nation’s top educational institutions and the systemic racial bias against black patients is so prevalent in the health care system.
Dr. Heather Irobunda, an obstetrician in New York City, said, “It also amazes me what other things are there about people of color that make them and other people think they’re ‘weird’ and it’s about those people.” how it affects the way we care for you.” -Gynecologist commented on his Instagram page.
Dr. Ima Abong, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky, also expressed her concerns in a tweet about Lieberman’s disturbing outlook on blackness, “[this is] Why we need more black leaders in medicine… Calling us ‘the devils of nature’ is racist, fetishizes our bodies and has its roots in slavery and colonialism. Shameful.”
Why we need more black leaders in medicine
Calling us the “devils of nature” is racist, fetishizes our bodies and is rooted in slavery and colonialism. Shameful. #medtwitter
The head of the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University was called out for a racist tweet. newsone
— Ima Ebong, MD (@ImaEbongMD) 23 February 2022
On Tuesday, Lieberman issued a formal apology in an email to her colleagues acknowledging her tweets as “racist and sexist,” according to an email from a Columbia spokesperson sent to NBC News, saying she regretted that he was “deeply embarrassed”.
“It’s not enough for me to apologize to the black community, to the women and all of you,” Lieberman’s email said. “I’ve hurt many people, and I’m starting to understand the work ahead to make the necessary personal changes and regain your trust over time.”
