On Wednesday 23rd February, Columbia University suspended its Psychiatry Department chair, Dr Jeffrey Lieberman, over his twitter post, in which he referred to South Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech as a "freak of nature".
“Whether a work of art or freak of nature, she’s a beautiful sight to behold”, wrote Lieberman, who once served as president of the American Psychiatric Association.
He was replying to a tweet that falsely referred to Gatwech as being in "the Guinness Book of World Records for having the darkest skin ever seen on Earth." Guinness however doesn’t set any record-keeping based on skin tones.
Twitter users expressed outrage over Lieberman’s remarks, with some tweeps demanding he be removed from his position. He later deleted the tweet and apologised.
“TWEET DELETED. My sincere apologies for any offense taken and indiscretion. Living and learning”, he wrote. Lieberman has since deleted his account.
In an interview with NBC New York, Gatwech made reference to the comment, saying, "Coming from somebody with so much power, that was so disappointing. I was like, this is straight up racism."
In an email to his colleagues obtained by The New York Times, Lieberman apologised for the tweet, describing it as “racist and sexist”.
He added that he was “deeply ashamed” of his “prejudices and stereotypical assumptions”.
"An apology from me to the Black community, to women, and to all of you is not enough", he wrote, "I've hurt many, and I am beginning to understand the work ahead to make needed personal changes and over time to regain your trust.”