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The chair of Columbia University's psychiatry department has been suspended after posting a tweet earlier this week that many have called racist.

The original tweet from Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, along with his entire Twitter account, have since been deleted -- but not before members of #MedTwitter took screenshots that were reposted and shared. In the tweet, he retweeted another user who had posted about Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech, describing her as "the most beautiful among the Black beauties." Lieberman his own version of a compliment to this, writing, "whether a work of art or freak of nature, she's a beautiful sight to behold."

Healthcare professionals on #MedTwitter were quick to point out why his remark was not, in fact, a compliment at all.

"Respectfully, this 'compliment' is problematic stated and reads as racist," Stella Safo, MD, MPH, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, in response. "Your role as a clinician providing care for patients is the only reason I and others are asking you to please delete and rephrase. It's anti-Black; may not be your intention but that's how it's coming off."

According to , Lieberman took to retweeting the criticisms put forth by clinicians on #MedTwitter when the backlash erupted, in which he expressed "sincere apologies for any offense taken and indiscretion" and said that he was "living and learning." Lieberman deleted his Twitter account altogether after more tweets came in denouncing his apology for being insufficient.

Lieberman formerly served as the president of the American Psychiatric Association. His LinkedIn shows that he is currently the director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, but the institute's does not list him among its leadership.

Many also noted that the original post that Lieberman retweeted claimed that Gatwech had been in the Guinness Book of World Records "for having the darkest skin ever seen on earth." In a tweet from May 2020, the official Guinness World Records account this claim, stating that "...this is not true as skin tone is not something we monitor."

Gatwech herself also reposted the screenshots of Lieberman's retweet to her , which has almost 1 million followers.

Safo explained in that Lieberman's comment was "giving 'Hottentot Venus' vibes," meaning it hearkened back to the life and death of Sarah Baartman, a South African woman who was taken to Europe by a British doctor in the early 1800s. She was paraded around Europe as part of a freak show attraction under the moniker 'Hottentot Venus.' in 1815, parts of Baartman's body -- including her brain and genitals -- were dissected, preserved in jars, and put on display at Paris's Museum of Man until 1974.

Christopher DiFrancesco, chief communications officer for Columbia University Irving Medical Center, confirmed to 乌鸦传媒 that an email from Anil Rustgi, MD, the interim executive vice president at Columbia University, and Steven Corwin, MD, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, had been sent out to all faculty members.

"Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman has been suspended from his role as chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and removed as Psychiatrist-in-Chief at CUIMC/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, effective immediately," the email stated.

Rustgi and Corwin added that they plan on holding a meeting with the psychiatry department's faculty, staff, and trainees, and an interim chair will be announced soon.

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