The New York Times wound up apologizing this weekend on Twitter after it described an alleged and outrageous act of sexual misconduct it claimed was committed by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh years ago — a claim it did not and could not corroborate — as seemingly “harmless fun.”

Related: Impeach Brett Kavanaugh, Declare Top Democrats This Weekend

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Both the original tweet and the apology have provoked anger on social media.

The Times made the “harmless fun” comment in a tweet — which was sent out by the publication’s opinion account.

That Twitter account was sharing a story written and reported by two New York Times staffers ― Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly ― who claimed their 10-month investigation uncovered new and damning information about past behavior by the Supreme Court justice, who was confirmed last summer after a bruising confirmation battle.

The apology by The New York Times doesn’t erase, of course, what it said earlier.

The reporters wrote about alleged incidents from Kavanaugh’s time while a student at Yale University in the 1980s.

The Times claimed that witnesses said that at a party, he thrust his penis at two different women, one of whom was previously known accuser Deborah Ramirez..

The outrageous charge has already evoked the anger of President Donald Trump and many others.

Related: Sen. Susan Collins Stands by Her Support of Brett Kavanaugh

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However, The Times’ description of the alleged outrage did not match, in any way, the seriousness of this so-called charge.

“Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken dorm party may seem like harmless fun,” the Times tweet read. “But when Brett Kavanaugh did it to her, Deborah Ramirez says, it confirmed that she didn’t belong at Yale in the first place.”

The Times eventually deleted that tweet and sent out an apology: “It was offensive, and we apologize.”

Justice Kavanaugh has consistently and categorically denied the charges of sexual misconduct lodged against him.

He was confirmed to the high court last October by the Senate.

Check out the reaction below, more of which is still being shared on social media as of right now.

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