Just hours after the horrific mass shooting near Santa Barbara, California; psychotherapist and frequent television guest Robi Ludwig suggested that triggerman Elliot Rodger may have been gay. Well, that remark has cost Ludwig her post with real estate giant Coldwell Banker.
For those who missed it, on Saturday night Ludwig appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Justice With Judge Jeanine,” and suggested that Rodger went on his killing spree because of repressed homosexual tendencies. Ludwig stated:
“When I was first listening to him, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s angry with women for rejecting him.’ Then I started to have a different idea — is this somebody who is trying to fight against his homosexual impulses? Was he angry with women because they were taking away men from him?”
Later, Ludwig wondered if he was “angry at the men for not choosing him” — all while saying she wasn’t diagnosing him (wink, wink). Raw Story has a clip of the exchange here. Almost as telling is that host Jeanine Pirro didn’t seem to raise an eyebrow at this breathtaking commentary.
Early Monday morning, veteran gay rights activist Scott Wooledge discovered that Ludwig was a “lifestyle real estate correspondent” for Coldwell Banker. She blogged on Coldwell Banker’s official blog, Blue Matter, to offer “professional insight and commentary on the real estate experience.” That didn’t sit too well with Wooledge, so he headed to Coldwell Banker’s official Facebook page and posted a link to a story about Ludwig’s comments with the question, “I believe she is a spokesperson of yours, correct?” On Tuesday, Coldwell Banker gave this terse reply:
“Dr. Robi’s comments on the tragedy in Santa Barbara do not represent the opinions of Coldwell Banker. Therefore at this time we feel it best to part ways with her as our lifestyle real estate correspondent.”
According to The New Civil Rights Movement, Coldwell Banker wasted little time scrubbing nearly all traces of Ludwig from the Blue Matter blog. Her bio page is still there, but all five posts she wrote from 2012 to this past January are gone. While the links are still there, clicking them only results in 404 errors.
Ludwig took to Facebook with what seems to be a textbook “nopology,” claiming she was merely hypothesizing on several possible explanations for Rodger’s killing spree and assess “several possible triggers” for his actions. Ludwig wrote:
“I in NO way meant to indicate being a homosexual or having homosexual impulses is a cause for spree killing.”
Um, Robi? What were we supposed to think when you wondered if Rodger was “trying to fight against his homosexual impulses?” There is no room for this sort of homophobic and pseudoscientific garbage anywhere, and Coldwell Banker should be applauded for acting so quickly.
Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
Edited by D.H.
