Neil deGrasse Tyson Faces Swift Backlash After Tweeting Mass Shooting Data, Apologizes

On Sunday, Neil deGrasse Tyson issued a tweet after the recent mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso. The "StarTalk" host used his Twitter platform to compare the number of those who lose their lives in shootings to people who are killed by medical errors, the flu and suicide. His tweet can be seen below.

The tweet, which compared and contrasted the various ways that people die every 48 hours, was not positively received. Many people on Twitter saw his tweet regarding the 29 people who died in Texas and Ohio to be insensitive.

On Monday morning, the TV personality issued an apology via a post on his Facebook titled "TweetStorm."

"My intent was to offer objectively true information that might help shape conversations and reactions to preventable ways we die," he wrote.

Continuing, he said, "Where I miscalculated was that I genuinely believed the Tweet would be helpful to anyone trying to save lives in America. What I learned from the range of reactions is that for many people, some information -- my Tweet in particular -- can be true but unhelpful, especially at a time when many people are either still in shock, or trying to heal - or both.

"So if you are one of those people, I apologize for not knowing in advance what effect my Tweet could have on you. I am therefore thankful for the candor and depth of critical reactions shared in my Twitter feed."

He then added that he "got this one wrong."

This controversy comes on the heels of Tyson being accused of sexual misconduct by four women. However, he was able to keep his position at the Hayden Planetarium after the investigation recently came to a conclusion.