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Soccer Player Shares Fake Coming Out Tweet, Claims Account Was Hacked
Real Madrid star Iker Casillas promptly deleted his “coming out” tweets.
Over the weekend, former Real Madrid player Iker Casillas shared what appeared to be a coming out post on Twitter.
"I hope you respect me: I'm gay," Casillas' tweet read. Former FC Barcelona player Carles Puyol then responded to the post, writing: "It's time to tell our story, Iker [heart emoji] [kiss emoji]."
\u201c@IkerCasillas and @Carles5puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. It\u2019s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful\u201d— Josh Cavallo (@Josh Cavallo) 1665324397
Both tweets were subsequently deleted after Twitter users noticed that the two men were joking and not actually coming out as gay. Given that National Coming Out Day celebrations took place on Tuesday, October 11 - just a few days after these tweets were shared - many Twitter users were outraged by these particularly tasteless "jokes."
Casillas proceeded to share a new tweet claiming (you guessed it!) that his account had been hacked, suggesting that he didn't actually share the coming out tweet. The soccer player wrote:
"Account [was] hacked. Luckily, everything [is] in order. Apologies to all my followers. And, of course, more apologies to the LGBT community [praying emoji]."
\u201cCuenta hackeada. Por suerte todo en orden. Disculpas a todos mis followers. Y por supuesto, m\u00e1s disculpas a la comunidad LGTB. \ud83d\ude4f\u201d— Iker Casillas (@Iker Casillas) 1665326171
Puyol also shared another tweet later that day, but he had a much more straightforward approach to handling the situation. He wrote:
"I have made a mistake. Sorry for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions and totally out of place. I understand that it may have hurt [feelings]. All my respect and support to the LGBTQIA+ community."
\u201cMe he equivocado. Perd\u00f3n por una broma torpe sin ninguna mala intenci\u00f3n y absolutamente fuera de lugar. Entiendo que puede haber herido sensibilidades. Todo mi respeto y apoyo a la comunidad LGTBIQA+\u201d— Carles Puyol (@Carles Puyol) 1665336311
It's pretty clear what happened here: two straight athletes thought it would be hilarious for them to come out as gay on social media as a stunt... for some reason. They quickly realized - or were told - that the "joke" wasn't funny and proceeded to delete their tweets. Casillas claimed that his Twitter account was hacked only to share that one single tweet. Puyol owned up to his mistake and apologized for the tasteless post.
Straight men, do better! Please and thank you.
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Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
