The chair of Columbia Universitys department of psychiatry was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday over his tweet about a dark-skinned model. He was also removed as psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Whether a work of art or freak of nature shes a beautiful sight to behold, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman tweeted on Monday in response to a photo and post about Nyakim Gatwech , an American model of South Sudanese descent.

The photo was posted by a user who referred to Gatwech as it and claimed the model had won a Guinness World Record for having the darkest skin on Earth, which is not true .

Lieberman, who is regarded as one of the nations leading psychiatrists, deleted the tweet and apologized after the public immediate outcry.

TWEET DELETED. My sincere apologies for any offense taken and indiscretion. Living and learning, he wrote, according to screenshots captured by social media users. He later disabled his account.

Members of the medical community said the apology was not enough. Some said the incident, stemming from a high-ranking professional and educator at one of the nations top institutions, represented major systemic issues facing Black patients and doctors in Americas health care system.

HE IS A PHYSICIAN, wrote Dr. Heather Irobunda, a New York City obstetrician-gynecologist, in a social media post . We all should have a basic understanding of how pigmentation can vary from person to person.

It also makes me wonder what other things about people of color that physicians like him and others think are freakish and how that impacts the way in which they deliver care to those individuals, she added.

Dr. Ima Ebong, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky, tweeted that it was an example of why we need more Black leaders in medicine... Calling us Freaks of nature is racist, fetishizes our bodies and is rooted in slavery and colonialism. Shameful.

When I consider the fact that Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman was the head of psychiatry at Columbia, a prestigious medical school, and former president of the American Psychiatry Association, its easier to understand why the DSM-V is such a mess, wrote Dr. Bryan Levya , a resident and researcher at the University of Minnesota.

Gatwech also responded to the incident, noting that Guinness World Records said last year that it does not monitor skin tones.

She said the spread of the fake assertion had been negatively impacting her Instagram account.

I cant imagine its even possible to know whos the lightest or darkest person on the planet! she wrote. I love my dark skin and my nickname Queen of Dark, but Ive never said Im the darkest person on earth.