Activist and Warren campaign surrogate Ashlee Marie Preston under fire for racist and misogynistic tweets

• Activist and Warren campaign surrogate Ashlee Marie Preston is under scrutiny after insensitive tweets were discovered on her Twitter account.
• Preston's old tweets include comments that are racist, homophobic, and misogynistic in nature.
• Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign also faced criticism for failing to vet Preston prior to allowing her to be a  campaign surrogate.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Activist and Warren campaign surrogate Ashlee Marie Preston has been under fire after insensitive tweets were discovered on her account.

Preston's old tweets display comments that are racist, homophobic, and misogynistic in nature.

"#TheThingIhatemMost…When Companies Have Reps In India & China Taking Calls For Them… I Never Understand Wtf They Are Saying," one tweet from February 2012 read.

"What Do U Call A Chinese Drive By Shooting ?? Cappuccino," reads another tweet.

"Another Damn Asian Almost Hit Me While Crossin, What The F--k Is It Wit Yall And Damn Vehicles?" Preston wrote in 2011 tweet.

The tweets, which have since been deleted, were screenshotted and reposted by other accounts on Twitter.

Preston issued an apology on Monday, captioning the tweet: "Taking accountability for the past, staying rooted in the present, and absorbing lessons for the future."

Read more: Thousands flooded a Manhattan park to see Elizabeth Warren in her biggest rally to date, and her selfie line after lasted almost 4 hours

Preston, who is a black trans woman, has been outspoken on LGBTQ rights and African American representation. She tweeted about the LGBTQ presidential town hall criticizing CNN, which hosted the event earlier this month, for allegedly scrapping her participation last minute.

"I was going to bring attention to the terror TSA inflicts on trans & non-binary bodies while traveling," Preston tweeted. "I'd rather be absent than present & silent."

The tweet was met with kind and supporting words, garnering over 8,000 likes since it was posted on October 10. Preston also recently appeared in a campaign video for 2020 presidential candidate and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, where she discussed the topic of women of color. The video was posted the same day as the town hall.

Just three days later, Warren's campaign faced criticism for failing to vet Preston prior to allowing her to be a campaign surrogate. The original video that the campaign tweeted out, calling Preston a "Warren Democrat" was filled with recent replies chastising the Massachusetts senator for approving of Preston.

"Elizabeth Warren chose a bigot as a surrogate," one Twitter user wrote. "I don't think she planned to, but whether she does anything about it matters."

Representatives for Warren's campaign did not immediately respond to Business Insider's email for comment. It's unclear if Preston is still a paid surrogate for the campaign.

Preston has also provoked outrage among supporters of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders after she criticized him for not attending the town hall, and falsely tweeted that the Vermont senator hadn't attended an LGBTQ event since the 70s. Sanders has attended LGBTQ events recently, but did not attend the recent town hall because he suffered a heart attack the week before.