March 5, 2015
Dr. Ben Carson Apologizes for Controversial Gay Comments, Blames CNN
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Retired neurosurgeon and possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson apologized for comments he made Wednesday about homosexuality being a choice, citing prisoners "who go into prison go into prison straight" but leave gay, but is also blaming the media for the wave of backlash he received.
CNN reports in a statement Carson said he "realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues."
"I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended," he said.
Carson referenced his medical education background and work at Johns Hopkins Hospital and said that there is no proof that being gay is a choice or if people are born that way.
"Some of our brightest minds have looked at this debate, and up until this point there have been no definitive studies that people are born into a specific sexuality," he added.
Carson's apology comes not long after he appeared on CNN's "New Day" where he told host Chris Cuomo being gay is "absolutely" a choice.
"Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there?" Carson said.
As Mediaite points out, shortly after making his original controversial remarks on CNN, discussed the incident that afternoon on Sean Hannity's radio show and played victim, blaming CNN for the negative attention he was getting.
"It was a 25 minute interview they chopped, and you see what part they emphasized," he said. "I did learn something very important: For certain networks, never do a pre-taped interview. Always do it live."
He later said: "I simply have decided I'm not really going to talk about that issue anymore because every time I'm gaining momentum the liberal press says, 'Let's talk about gay rights.' And I'm just not going to fall for that anymore."
