Meanwhile, two leading gay rights organizations are calling on MSNBC and commentator Tucker Carlson to apologize for remarks that they say condone violent assaults against gay men. On Tuesday night, Carlson appeared on Dan Abrams’ show on MSNBC and bragged about how he had once beaten up a man in a bathroom after the man made an unwanted sexual advance. While Carlson told the story, Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough could be heard laughing.

Dan Abrams: “Tucker, what did you do, by the way? What did you do when he did that? We’ve got to know.”

Tucker Carlson: “I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the — you know, and grabbed him. And — and” —

Abrams: “And did what?”

Carlson: “Hit him against the stall with his head, actually! And then the cops came and arrested him. But let me say that I’m the least anti-gay right-winger you’ll ever meet.”

Tucker Carlson later clarified his comments by claiming that he and his friend simply seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived. Carlson said in a statement, “Several bloggers have characterized this is a sort of gay bashing. That’s absurd, and an insult to anybody who has fought back against an unsolicited sexual attack.”