A Canadian conservative student group fired its communications director after emailing an invitation to see a controversial anti-feminist movie by saying “feminism is cancer.”
The group called Wildrose On Campus in Calgary, Alberta and affiliated with the Parliamentary Wildrose Party, has quickly reacted to the public uproar over an email promoting anti-feminist The Red Pill screening on campus.
The email sent out to people promoting the movie read: “feminism is cancer.”
It also said: “You and I both know that feminism is cancer. To create a dialogue on campus, we have decided to take action” and advertised the now-cancelled The Red Pill screening.
One Twitter user, Jessica Conlin, who publicized the offending invite first, said the email text is “disparaging to women” and “a slap in the face for cancer survivors.”
The communications director for the student group was immediately fired, while the event was cancelled. The group took to social media to apologize for causing offense.
“We are very sorry for the comments that were made in an email sent out earlier today,” the statement on Facebook and Twitter read. “The comments made do not reflect the opinions of the executive or the club, and thus, our director of communications has been fired.”
The student group’s email also caught the eye of New Democratic Party MLA and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips, who demanded an explanation from the Wildrose Party leader, Brian Jean.
“Wildrose are not perpared to recongize Alberta as the pluralistic, diverse place it is. International Women’s Day is March 8. Which Party represents your values?” she wrote.
The Party leader responded on Twitter, writing: “We need to encourage women to be engaged in the political process, not make them feel alienated. Glad action was taken here.”
