The Asbury Park Press used a caption laced with profanity, misogynism and a derogatory ethnic term as part of a gallery of photos showing people of color receiving Covid vaccinations.
“A fucking hot nurse, a total JAP, loads a syringe with a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a in the Center for Health Education, Medicine and Dentistry vaccination tent in Lakewood, New Jersey, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021,” is the caption used on a photograph taken by Gannett photographer Gustavo Martínez Contreras.
Martínez Contreras included the photo in a story under his byline about efforts by healthcare providers and churches to bridge the vaccination gap among communities of color at the Jersey shore.
“This is beyond the pale and disgusting,” State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) said on Twitter. “(The) Asbury Park Press needs to provide an explanation and apology ASAP on why and how this was posted.”
The photo depicted an unnamed health care provider.
Martínez Contreras did not return a 7:10 PM telephone call seeking comment. The editor, Paul D’Ambrosio, did not respond to an 8:31 PM call. The Asbury Park Press later changed the caption before removing the photo entirely.
This story was updated at 7:58 PM with comment from Gopal.
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