On Thursday, roughly six weeks after the World Health Organization decided to rename the disease monkeypox after some claimed the name was discriminatory, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson confirmed that his viewers had decided to give the Centers for Disease Control and the American people a new name for the disease.
Carlson made an implicit reference to the manner in which the disease has been largely spread through homosexual behavior in addition to a side reference to “Long COVID” as he pronounced his name for the disease.
“So monkeypox is about the coolest name ever for a disease — ‘can’t come tonight, I got the monkey’— but they are changing the name, ‘cause racism or something,” Carlson asserted.
“Well, for once, we know who they are; we’re not going to allow it,” he declared. “We’re going to change the name this time.”
“We’re going to do it with the public’s help, because democracy is real,” he quipped.
Earlier in the week, Carlson had stated, “We like the name monkeypox; it’s a great name, but as long as they’re going to change the name, we should have some role in naming it. It shouldn’t be left up to Tony Fauci and Deborah Birx. So what should we call it? Democracy Pox? Schlong COVID, our favorite? Tweet us your suggestions.”
Carlson took a poll on Twitter. He continued on Thursday, “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’re declaring it: Schlong COVID.”
Targeting the CDC, he continued, “That won our audience election with about 40% of the vote. So let Rochelle Walensky (director of the Centers for Disease Control) at the CDC know; her number is 1-800-232-4636. Wait for the prompt on ‘monkeypox’ and make your voice heard, cause it’s still a democracy.”
The results are in. Monkeypox will now officially be called “Schlong Covid.” pic.twitter.com/nEFZjvWAnV
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 29, 2022
In mid-June, the World Health Organization, apparently responding to over 30 researchers who “signed a position paper stating there was an ‘urgent need’ to change its name given the current outbreak, which has mainly struck gay and bisexual men,” as the Daily Mail reported, announced the disease would be renamed.
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated that the organization is “working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus, its clades, and the disease it causes. … We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.”
On Wednesday, Ghebreyesus implicitly addressed the homosexual community, saying:
This is an outbreak that can be stopped if countries, communities and individuals inform themselves, take the risk seriously and take the steps needed to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups. The best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure. That means making safe choices for yourself and others. For men who have sex with men, this includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners, reconsidering sex with new partners and exchanging contact details with any new partners to enable follow up, if needed.