Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Daulerio did not want to comment due to pending legal issues. Daulerio has since said that is not the case.
When new Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio fired blogger Seth Abramovitch after a post on Kanye West's epic Twitter rant — in which Abramovitch used the word "n—-" — the media immediately assumed the post was the reason.
That's not so says Daulerio, who penned an apology of sorts on Gawker Wednesday, saying the firing was "ill-timed" and lauding Abramovitch's work as "excellent." Mostly though, he chided the media for its reaction.
"Since Seth's departure last Thursday, there have been many articles written that suggest he was fired specifically for making a "racist" slur in his post. There was this headline. And this one. And this one. That's just not true," Daulerio wrote.
Also Read: Gawker Fires Blogger After Kanye West Post, 'Half-Assed Apology' (Updated)
When TheWrap spoke with Daulerio after the firing and subsequent media flurry, he did say that Abramovitch was being fired for more reasons than the ill-advised post but declined to go into specifics.
TheWrap included that, but perhaps too far down in the story.
In this instance, Daulerio declined to comment, but in his post he does offer an olive branch to the scorned writer.
"Obviously, writing this will only reignite some discussions neither I nor Seth want to have, but I do feel he's been unfairly blemished. He shouldn't be and his next employer will be lucky to have him. If anyone is interested in acquiring his services, I encourage you to email me if you need a more formal recommendation."
That's not to say Daulerio retracted what he said about the post itself.
"I thought it was a shitty joke and some of the attempts to defuse the backlash were shittier."