Tucker Carlson Slammed Over 'Homophobic' New Name for Monkeypox: 'Cruel'

Tucker Carlson has been accused of homophobia and being cruel after joking about changing the name of monkeypox.

On his Thursday night show, the Fox News host joked about the decision to change the name of the disease as cases continue to be concentrated among the gay community.

In early June, a group of scientists, many based in Africa, issued a position paper calling for a name change for the disease to avoid the negative impact it was having on people from different communities.

"We propose a novel classification of MPXV (Monkeypox Virus) that is non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing and aligned with best practices in naming of infectious diseases in a way that minimizes unnecessary negative impacts on nations, geographic regions, economies and people and that considers the evolution and spread of the virus," the paper read.

Carlson also shared a clip from his show on his Twitter page, where he said that, due to a popular vote following a poll, monkeypox will now be known as "Schlong Covid."

"Monkeypox is about the coolest name for a disease, 'can't come today I've got the monkey,'" Carlson said.

"But they are changing the name because of racism or something. Well for once, we don't know who they are and we are not going to allow it.

"We are going to change the name this time, we are going to do it with the public's help because democracy is real.

"So we had a vote, there was no ballot harvesting, you can trust our counting and the new name for monkeypox is now officially, and we are declaring it, Schlong Covid.

"That won our audience election result with about 40 percent of the votes.

"So, let Rochelle Walensky at the CDC know. Her number is 1-800-232-4636. Wait for the prompt on monkeypox and make your voice heard because it's still a democracy."

Other names that were offered in the vote included Hunter Hives, Midterm Variant and Adam Schiffilis.

In response to Carlson, journalist Maria De Los Angeles tweeted: "#Tucker Carlson #Schlong Covid, not only sophomoric and unbelievably cruel, it's also not original.

"Ad to prevent Covid-related erectile dysfunction in 2021," she added in a tweet, sharing an article that pleads for the people to get vaccinated to prevent higher rates of erectile disfunction. The revelation that Covid could cause erectile disfunction issues saw the issue nicknamed "schlong Covid" in some circles.

American actor, Tery Kinney also responded to Carlson's call to rename the disease.

"You're such a f***ing ashole, and a homophobic 'straight male poser...pox." he tweeted.

"Tucker Carlson is a syphilitic chode, calling monkeypox 'schlong covid'. In addition to being homophobic dig, it's also completely dismissive of people suffering with long covid," music artist Holly Figueroa O'Reilly tweeted .

A WHO spokesperson has told Newsweek that in newly affected countries, the virus continues to be concentrated "among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who have had recent sexual contact with a new partner or partners."

The spokesperson said there is now more data on the virus, and how it is spreading within this community.

WHO said that "it might also be of interest to note" that so far in the outbreak, there have been no cases reported in other parts of the LGBTQI+ community, "including, for example among the lesbian community."

"This is interesting given the large number of Pride festivals held in recent months that have involved casual interpersonal contact in the context of large groups," the spokesperson said.

Newsweek has contacted Fox News for comment.