Bratislav Gasic, the defense minister of Serbia, was fired today because of a crude, sexist comment he said to a journalist. Gasic offended Zlatija Labovic Sunday during a visit to the Prva Petoletka Namenska factory in Trstenik. Labovic bent over so as to not obstruct a photo being taken of the minister and, seeing that, Gasic commented, "I love female journalists who get down on their knees easily," reported Balkan Insight.
The prime minister chastised Gasic for his thoughtlessness and, later that evening, Gasic issued a public apology. "I want to publicly apologize to the journalist Zlatija Labovic and the Serbian public because of my disgraceful and scandalous behavior. There is no justification for my actions," he said, according to Balkan Insight.
Gasic is a personal friend and trusted minister of Aleksandar Vucic, the prime minister. Despite this, Vucic said "we need to protect women in Serbia. It was a bad message for all women. A minister cannot afford to say that."
"It is good that he has apologized and regrets what he has done, but that is not enough," continued Vucic, reported ABC News.
In response to Gasic's comment, Jovana Gligorijevic, another female journalist, started the hashtag #novinarkeneklece (which translates to "female journalists do not kneel"). She said Gasic's sexism was not an isolated incident, but rather a large problem that showed how little the authorities value women and journalists, noted Balkan Insight.
Gasic is no stranger to controversy — he was at the center of several scandals over the course of his term, but Vucic chose to keep him on his staff until today, reported CBS News.