‘CLEVER’

Detroit News Legend Charlie LeDuff Won’t Back Down from His Coded Vulgar Tweet

The Detroit News fired LeDuff over the weekend over a tweet that subtly referenced the c-word.

Charlie LeDuff is apologetic over his firing from the Detroit News—but not for what he was fired over. LeDuff was let go last week after he tweeted the phrase “See you next Tuesday”—a coded way to describe a vulgar insult often aimed at women—at Michigan’s attorney general, who he alleged in a column had subtly stifled an investigation into the Michigan Democratic Party treasurer. But the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer-turned-conservative firebrand LeDuff told the Detroit Metro Times he had nothing to apologize for, claiming his phrase was “clever” due to his weekly column being published on Tuesdays. He did apologize to Detroit News publisher Gary Miles, who fired him over the weekend. LeDuff said he regretted imposing “shade or stress” on Miles and the paper’s editorial page editor. “That’s who I apologize to and nobody else,” he said.