Smith says Gannett employee responsible for controversial photo option should be held accountable

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) today expressed disappointment with a Gannett-owned newspaper’s response to a misogynistic photo caption that appeared in their digital edition on Sunday.

“It was shocking—and out of character—for the Asbury Park Press to post a highly offensive photo caption that was both demeaning to women and anti-Semitic,” Smith said.  “The dedicated Jewish health care professional photographed working on the front lines giving COVID vaccinations to members of her community should have been praised and respected—not used to express the writer’s contempt for women.”

The newspaper’s executive editor, Paul D’Ambrosio apologized for a caption that referred to an Orthodox Jewish woman preparing a vial of the Moderna vaccine as “a fucking hot nurse, a total JAP.: 

“The Asbury Park Press’ apology was a good beginning but the author of these horrific and unacceptable comments needs to be held accountable,” said Smith.

Smith was one of many political leaders to call out the newspaper for the controversial caption, along with Gov. Phil Murphy and State Sens. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) and Robert Singer (R-Lakewood.)