Democratic North Carolina House candidate and “American Idol” star Clay Aiken deleted a tweet in which he said that he wanted to punch a prominent female conservative in the face.
“Anyone else watching @piersmorgan want to punch Ann Coulter in the face?” tweeted Aiken in October 2012.
The comment was discovered by a blog that found references other Twitter users, including talk show host Arsenio Hall, made in response to the tweet.
“You and Ann should do a political version of ESPN’s First Take!” wrote Hall, who defeated Aiken in the reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2012.
Earlier this year, the website BuzzFeed reported that Aiken deleted a number of tweets related to politics ahead of his congressional run.
The site did not include a reference to Aiken’s tweet about Coulter, a prominent female conservative columnist and pundit.
“Playing drinking game with my brother now. We drink every time we see a black person on screen at the RNC convention. #soberasamormon” he tweeted during the GOP’s 2012 convention.
Referencing comments first lady Michelle Obama made about Ann Romney, Aiken wrote “She just whooped Ann Romney’s ass so hard that Ann’s horse felt it!!! #michelle2016.”
Aiken will face Republican incumbent Renee Ellmers in November. The singer-turned-politician won over 40 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, enough to avoid a run-off. His strongest Democratic challenger, Keith Crisco, died the day before the primary after a fall in his home.
Aiken became a national star in 2003 after placing second in “American Idol.” He finished less than 134,000 votes behind winner Ruben Studdard out of over 24 million total votes.
(h/t Weasel Zippers)