GAFFES

Helen Thomas Skips Speaking Gig

As White House denounces anti-Israel comments.

Helen Thomas is famous for speaking her mind, but the fallout from her latest comments regarding Israel and Palestine have been particularly bruising. Thomas, the child of Lebanese immigrants, released an independent YouTube video last week telling Israel to “get the hell out of Palestine” and told Jews to “go home,” but has since apologized for the remarks, saying “I think I crossed a line.” Still, the 89-year-old Hearst columnist and White House correspondent has agreed to cancel her commencement speech at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD, and the agency that arranges her speaking gigs, Nine Speakers, has dropped her. Prominent former White House officials have even asked for her resignation. Walt Whitman's principal said he canceled on Thomas because “graduations are not the time for divisiveness.” Hearst Corporation, her employer, said Saturday they “deeply regret” her comments, but are sticking with her—at least for now.