The Office’s Rainn Wilson apologizes for breastfeeding joke following backlash from transgender community

Rainn Wilson has apologized for a joke that caused outrage in the transgender community, saying he has “educated” himself since posting the story.

Rainn Wilson has apologized for a joke he shared on social media aimed at transgender people.

The 56-year-old actor, who is best known for playing Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The Office, took to Twitter to say he’s “educated” himself after talking with transgender friends.

Rainn caused astonishment when he posted on Twitter: “TIL you can’t say ‘breastfeeding or nursing mom’ anymore but ‘breastfeeder’.”

He has faced backlash from the transgender community, who have offended his words and today the actor sought to repair the damage caused by his words.

Writing on Twitter, Rainn told his followers: “Yesterday I tweeted a malicious rift about breastfeeding and breastfeeding.

“After talking to some Trans friends and educating myself a bit more, I’d like to apologize for the tweet.

“It has increased misinformation and malice. I’m sorry.”

After several complaints about his initial tweet, Rainn has been praised for his apology and that he is taking active steps to learn more about being transgender.

One fan commented on his post: “You are such a good person Rainn, thank you for sharing this”

Another added: “Thank you for educating yourself and doing better”

While a third wrote: “Thanks for the apology – I just heard about the joke but I was so happy to see this was the first thing on your page when I came to see it.”

The apology comes a day after Rainn spoke about the lasting impact of The Office, the US version of Ricky Gervais’ original sitcom.

Talking to Tonight’s reception“I think about The Office a lot because it becomes culturally iconic,” says Rainn.

“You know, obviously I’m always recognized and they’re always doing new things with The Office.

“It’s played in different parts of the world and there’s a lot of different merchandise coming out and books, podcasts and other things. So that got me thinking about it quite a bit.”

Rainn continued: “I’m really grateful. I know a lot of people who have been on TV shows for a very long time and no one thinks about or watches their TV shows anymore.

“And, you know, they get some nice salaries, but that’s it.”

“But the fact that we’re able to do something that still resonates, especially with today’s youth, is truly a miracle,” he concludes.

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