Barrack says didn't use 'animalistic' in a 'derogatory manner'

After his remarks sparked outrage in Lebanon and beyond, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has offered an indirect apology to Lebanese journalists who were offended by his chiding remarks at the Baabda Palace, saying his use of the word “animalistic” was not meant to be voiced in “a derogatory manner.”

“I’m just saying, ‘Can we calm down, can we find some tolerance, some kindness. Yeah, let’s be, let’s be civilized.’ But it was inappropriate to do when the media is just doing their job,” Barrack said in an interview with Mario Nawfal on the X platform.

“I understand more than anybody else (that) these things are complicated and difficult. It’s very rare that they (journalists) have an opportunity to talk to people who are actually making the decisions,” Barrack added.

“So they have the illusion that it’s me. I should have been more generous with my time and more tolerant myself,” the U.S. envoy said.

At the start of a news conference at the Baabda Palace on Tuesday, Barrack warned raucous journalists to be quiet, telling them to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.”

He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.

“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack. He then asked: “Do you think this is fun for us? Do you think this is economically beneficial for (U.S. envoy) Morgan (Ortagus) and I to be here putting up with this insanity?”

None of the journalists present responded to his comments but the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate issued a statement slamming the “inappropriate treatment” that the Lebanese journalists were subjected to and called on Barrack and the U.S. State Department to offer a “public apology.” It added that if no apology were made, it could escalate by calling for boycotting Barrack’s visits and meetings.

The Lebanese Presidency and Information Minister Paul Morcos also issued statements voicing solidarity with the journalists.

The Presidency said it “regrets” the comments made by “one of our guests” and greeted journalists who cover news at the palace, thanking them for their “hard work.”