That time the Philippine president used a homophobic slur to describe the U.S. ambassador

[DonViejo]

The first rule of diplomacy? Don't use a homophobic slur when referring to a foreign dignitary.

But that's exactly what Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, did in televised remarks Friday. Washington reportedly summoned Manila's charge d’affaires in Washington on Monday to complain, in what must have been a rather awkward meeting.

Duterte, a fast-talking former mayor who swept to power this spring, was telling reporters about his relationship with U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg when he made the wildly homophobic — and utterly undiplomatic — remark.

"As you know, I’m fighting with (U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry’s) ambassador. His gay ambassador, the son of a whore. He pissed me off,” Duterte said. (He was speaking in Tagalog, the main language of the Philippines, and the word for "son of a whore" isn't quite as pointed as it seems in English. It might be compared to calling someone an S.O.B.)

-snip-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/10/that-time-the-philippine-president-called-the-u-s-envoy-the-homosexual-offspring-of-a-sex-worker/

[dhol82]

1. Might not have been as pointed in Tagalog but

still not acceptable in international diplomatic speak.

Not nice.