Polymarket issues a public statement addressing the recent “retardio” incident involving an intern’s posts, expressing apologies for “inappropriate language.”

Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market platform that allows users to place bets on world events, has found itself in hot water after its intern published a series of posts on X, which resemble together the word “retardio.”

In an X statement on Apr. 23, the company expressed regret for falling short of its standards, saying the offensive posts, published from Polymarket’s official X account, were promptly deleted upon discovery.

“We want to make it unequivocally clear that this language is completely unacceptable and does not align with our values or the culture we aim to foster at Polymarket.”

Polymarket

The offensive posts, which appeared to be a series of single-letter posts, were published from Polymarket’s official X account. When read together sequentially, the letters spelled out the word “retardio,” a derogatory term, often used to insult or belittle someone with intellectual disabilities.

Polymarket confirmed that the intern responsible for the posts has been dismissed from their position within the organization. Responding to calls from the crypto community to rehire the intern, a Polymarket spokesperson defended the firm’s decision, stating that the intern had “crossed the line,” adding that protestors “don’t understand corporate governance […].”