Frank Stallone backs off after taunting Parkland survivor David Hogg, apologizes
Actor Frank Stallone has apologized to Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, after vilely ranting on Twitter and calling the 17-year-old a "coward" and "rich little b***h".
Now the 67-year-old brother of Sylvester Stallone is saying he is "deeply ashamed" for his Saturday tweets, which have since been deleted.
Stallone is the second public personality to have aplogized in a matter of days after going after survivors of the Florida high school shooting, and who have spearheaded a gun reforms campaign.
Fox News Laura Ingraham took a break from hosting duty after advertisers dropped out of her show when she mocked Hogg.
"To everyone and to David Hogg especially. I want to deeply apologize for my irresponsible words. I would never in a million years wish or promote violence to anyone anywhere on this planet," Stallone wrote on Twitter the next day.
"After what these kids went through I'm deeply ashamed. Please accept my apology."
David Hogg, along with his fellow Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School classmates, is a vocal gun control activist in the wake of February 14 attack that left 17 dead and many more injured.
On Saturday's tweet, Stallone called Hogg a coward and the "worst rep for today's youth."
"This David Hogg p---y is getting a little big for his britches. I'm sure someone from his age group is dying to sucker punch this rich little b---h," Stallone wrote.
"Watch him run home like the coward he is. He's the worst rep for today's youth headline grabbing punk."
The tweet was met with backlash and Stallone's eventual apology extended to Hogg's classmate and fellow activist Emma Gonzalez, who the actor called a "headline grabbing clown" in another deleted tweet.
"What Frank Stallone said is despicable and I call on the Lomita Community Blood Bank to boycott him and no longer buy his plasma," actor Ike Barinholtz wrote.
Stallone had briefly made his Twitter account private so that he would not "have to listen to a bunch of computer hero's (sic) telling (him) how tough they (sic) and I'm not," but made it public again hours later.
Stallone's comments come after similar attacks on the students from conservative rocker Ted Nugent and Fox News host Laura Ingraham.