‘Unparalleled meanness’: Moscow hits back at Georgian TV host’s foul-mouthed rant about Putin
Moscow has lashed out at a Georgian TV host who fired off a profanity-laden tirade about Putin –and his late parents– live on air, calling it an unspeakable disgrace that has absolutely no place in a civilized country.
Giorgi Gabunia, the host of a show on Georgia’s Rustavi 2 broadcaster, which is seen as pro-opposition, sparked a massive backlash after he spent nearly a minute using curse words in Russian to insult Vladimir Putin before finally expressing his desire to “sh*t on [Putin’s] grave.”
The foul-mouthed rant was characterized as displaying an “unparalleled meanness” and “an open provocation by radicals” aimed at undermining Russia-Georgia relations, the Foreign Ministry of Russia said on Monday. Moscow now expects that international bodies and the media community also address the broadcast incident, the statement said.
[Insults] like these should have no place in a civilized country.
Later on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, while the whole affair could have been provoked from the outside, it does no credit to Georgia. “This is indecent to the Georgian people, who have very old history and rich culture,” he stated, adding, “it is indeed a big disgrace for Georgians.”
As the day progressed, Georgia’s top officials united in condemning the rant even though the ties between the countries are far from perfect. President Salome Zurabishvili said she “unequivocally condemns hate speech, verbal aggression, insults and provocative statements,” while PM Mamuka Bakhtadze called the incident “a disgusting act of provocation and an attempt to destabilize our country.”
Also on rt.com Protesting crowds assail Georgian opposition TV after host's foul-mouthed attack on Putin (VIDEOS)Aside from politicians, outrage was also felt among the general public at the expletive-laden tirade, with scores of people staging a spontaneous rally outside the Rustavi 2 headquarters and demanding that the TV host be dismissed.
The embattled broadcaster went off-air for some time because of the protest, issuing a statement denouncing Gabuniya's choice of words that weren’t “in compliance with the high standards established by our channel.”
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