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Iowa Man Whose Plea For Beer Raised Over $1 Million Dollars For Charity Apologizes After Anheuser-Busch Cuts Ties Over His Past Racist Tweets
You may remember Carson King, the Iowa State University alumn who raised over $1 million for the University of Iowa's Stead Children's Hospital, after he posted a viral sign requesting beer money.
The sign read "Busch Light Supply Needs To Be Replenished Via Venmo."
Soon, King received an influx of Venmos from strangers.
Now, King's Twitter has revealed a racist past and Anheuser-Busch cut ties with him but will still honor their pledge to donate funds to the hospital.
King also apologized.
In 2012, King posted two tweets quoting notoriously racist television program Tosh.0, "racist jokes, one comparing black mothers to gorillas and another making light of black people killed in the holocaust."
A statement from our editor: https://t.co/ZH9AhcrYbg— Des Moines Register (@Des Moines Register)1569383316.0
Lmao the racist white ppl of Iowa are big mad that the Des Moines register dug up not ONE but multiple racist tweet… https://t.co/zy57axR2iS— 강 정란 ✨ (@강 정란 ✨)1569379728.0
These two things can, and are, both be true simultaneously. 1: Carson King has done a fantastic job of raising ove… https://t.co/OqMCAhQsE4— Levi Larson (@Levi Larson)1569381340.0
Unpopular opinion: Carson King said some very racist stuff. The Des Moines Register wrote a very good and balance… https://t.co/h2dkrYzzfi— S.Phillip Groom (@S.Phillip Groom)1569466126.0
Pretty surprising that Busch cut ties with Carson king for a racist tweet from years ago when the entire consumer b… https://t.co/TuCkU93v32— slick geati (@slick geati)1569419658.0
Carson King came forward to apologize for those tweets.
https://t.co/5pM1D6jh5H— Carson King (@Carson King)1569370643.0
"I am so embarrassed and stunned to reflect on what I thought was funny when I was 16 years old. I want to sincerely apologize."
King added:
"Thankfully, high school kids grow up and hopefully become responsible and caring adults."
I don’t care how long ago Carson King made those racist tweets. I find it so funny that so many Iowans are defend… https://t.co/lJzbguCPe3— Aisha Bells (@Aisha Bells)1569452358.0
@ThaMantisMojo Carson King’s were very bad. Like very very very racist bad. Not saying I agree with pitchforking th… https://t.co/rjwKIZmzy7— Pointclickdead (@Pointclickdead)1569422527.0
When you put Carson King at the center of this story, you open the door for racism, bigotry, and hatred to have a p… https://t.co/ypBmDmgIvi— ugh (@ugh)1569378907.0
Can we trade in Steve King for Carson King? Id rather have a dude who made a mistake and learned from it than an ol… https://t.co/cJ0aR5Ykh6— Jeff Schipull (@Jeff Schipull)1569506602.0
Carson King was smart enough to know not to post racist things on social media. A sophomore in high school is not c… https://t.co/1l8Q3dxlXd— Dakota Waltz (@Dakota Waltz)1569393477.0
King also says he does not blame the newspaper for their role in exposing the two racist tweets from 2012.
Carson King, viral 'beer money' fundraiser, apologizes for old, offensive social media posts www.youtube.com
"[The Des Moines Register] has been nothing but kind in all of their coverage, and I appreciate the reporter pointing out the post to me."
Still, people are divided on the issue, especially with both Busch dropping King as Busch has a history with racism themselves.
And The Des Moines Register as the reporter who covered King's stories posted a number of tweets mocking gay marriage and other bigoted content.
"If you are an adult going through a teenager’s tweets to try and embarrass people who are now doing good things, w… https://t.co/0NKaUM0Cpi— Outkick the Coverage (@Outkick the Coverage)1569450092.0
Some Absolute Toad From The Des Moines Register Digs Up Tweets From Carson King (The Iowa State Kid Who Raised $1 M… https://t.co/IjAa6kj6YR— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports)1569452700.0
The Register issued an official statement.
The Register is aware of reports of inappropriate social media posts by one of our staffers, and an investigation has begun.— Des Moines Register (@Des Moines Register)1569387625.0
The Register later confirmed the reporter has since been fired.
We've heard from hundreds of you about our Carson King coverage. We took appropriate action because there’s nothing… https://t.co/W6pZRe4A5K— Des Moines Register (@Des Moines Register)1569547944.0
@AnheuserBusch cut ties with Carson King today for something he did when he was 16. So glad I drink @CoorsLight. An… https://t.co/X37Av5ijyU— Eric Marsh (@Eric Marsh)1569380863.0
@CarsonKing2 You have more class than @DMRegister @buschbeer @abinbev @AnheuserBusch all combined. They all made crappy decisions as adults.— commonsense (@commonsense)1569412278.0
The reporter that dug through 8 years of Carson King’s tweets is furiously deleting his own racist, homophobic, and… https://t.co/UwuSrlo90x— Lindsay Washburn (@Lindsay Washburn)1569386331.0
- "I want to grow up and read sex scenes to high schoolers." - "can I be a guest instructor at your theater camp t… https://t.co/7rgHcyWqU5— Mike Cernovich (@Mike Cernovich)1569392658.0
@iowahawkblog Aaron Calvin even had enough time to apologize for his own tweets! https://t.co/9t7Jn5bTnB— Andrew Wimsatt (@Andrew Wimsatt)1569418951.0
The controversy is ongoing, but a boycott of both Anheuser-Busch and The Des Moines Register has been launched based on their decisions.
A northeast Iowa festival says it's decided to not serve Busch Light beer this weekend to demonstrate support for C… https://t.co/eDkx4KUI5M— Des Moines Register (@Des Moines Register)1569527674.0
An adult who consistently makes bigoted statements is one thing. But a teenager who makes bigoted statements, then changes their attitude when they grow up?
Isn't that the goal for dealing with bigotry? Education and growth leading to embracing diversity?
Come on, Anheuser-Busch, it looks like Carson King ticked all those boxes.
*****
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