By NAN Contributor
News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. April 13, 2018: Caribbean-American Congresswoman, Yvette Clarke, may have spotlighted on the very serious issue of lack of diversity at social media giant, Facebook Wednesday, but her early gaffe has turned her into a Twitter meme and the butt of many jokes, including on late night television.
The Jamaican roots representative, for NY district 9th, sits on the House’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, but it appeared she did not know the name of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was appearing before the US Congress on Wednesday for his second day.
Clarke stunned many by opening her questioning of the billionaire with the comment: “Thank you for coming before us, Mr. Zuckerman.”
And Twitter erupted, blanking out everything else she asked after that.
REACTIONS
“Yvette Clarke is definitely not the brightest bulb on the string,” tweeted Nat Atkins as Amanda Zantal-Wiener posted: “Rep. Clarke just called Mark Zuckerberg ‘Mr. Zuckerman’ and I should not be giggling this much about it.”
“Rep. Yvette Clarke = Low I.Q. Individual,” Based Monitored tweeted while Jason Nocera chimed in: “Mr. Zuckerman, can you please tell us how instatweets work on your site, FaceSpace.”
“There was an awkward moment during the Facebook hearing when Rep. Yvette Clarke called Mark Zuckerberg “Mr. Zuckerman. It got even more awkward when he unfriended her,” added Will Presti.
Even her challenger for the seat in the upcoming Primary Election added his voice.
“In response to @RepYvetteClarke calling the Facebook CEO “Mr. Zuckerman” today, primary challenger @adembunkeddeko says Clarke “should know the name of the founder and CEO of one of the most important and influential tech companies of our time.”
But others like Parker Higgins saw it as a power move, Tweeting: “It is a very dope power move to call him ‘Mr. Zuckerman’” while others asked: “Did she do that on purpose?” even asAlexander Pessala added: “Shout out to Rep. Yvette Clarke (represents Brooklyn, NY) who just called him Mr. Zuckerman.”
HEADLINES
The Congresswoman’s gaff also made news globally on sites like UPROXX and Bustle, which ran headlines, that respectively screamed: ‘A Congresswoman Referred To Mark Zuckerberg As ‘Mr. Zuckerman’ and ‘Mr. Zuckerman Memes Will Stick Around Long After Mark Zuckerberg’s Testimony.’
Vice News ran with the headline: “Gaze upon the face of a man who’s just been called Mark “Zuckerman,” above a photo of the Facebook CEO and founder.
The Colbert Report
The Stephen Colbert of The Late Night Show also had a laugh at Clarke’s expense Wednesday night.
Back in 2012, Clarke also made headlines on the show for a gaffe on slavery while appearing on The Colbert Report.
Colbert at the time was quizzing Clarke on the history of her borough.
“Some have called Brooklyn’s decision to become part of New York City ‘The Great Mistake of 1898,’ ” Colbert said. “If you could get in a time machine and go back to 1898, what would you say to those Brooklynites?
“I would say to them, ‘Set me free,’ ” Clarke said.
Pressed by Colbert what she would be free from, the black congresswoman responded, “Slavery.”
Clarke’s Reaction
Clarke for her part yesterday ignored the snafu and the jokes, tweeting instead: “I’ve asked Mr. Zuckerberg if the lack of diversity in Facebook’s C-Suite is a reason in which the company could not investigate these claims that incited racial division.”
