Melissa Harris-Perry’s Twitter apology for the jokes she and her panel of guests made about Mitt Romney’s adopted Black grandson on Sunday was not enough to prevent CNN and Fox from pushing for the MSNBC host to be fired immediately.
Fox and CNN have aired several reports and panel discussions criticizing Harris-Perry and her guests from Sunday’s show, but there doesn’t seem to be enough evidence to support CNN’s claim that the general public is “demanding” that Harris-Perry be fired.
During Sunday’s episode of Harris-Perry’s show, she and her guests joked about a Romney family photo and focused on Romney’s adopted Black grandson, Kieran.
“One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just isn’t the same,” sang actress Pia Glenn on the panel.
Harris-Perry then added that in 2040 she hopes to see a “marriage between Kieran Romney and North West,” the baby daughter of rapper Kanye West and reality star Kim Kardashian.
“Can you imagine Mitt Romney and Kanye West as in-laws?” Harris-Perry asked the panel.
On Wednesday morning, CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield said that there are “some people demanding MSNBC fire” Harris-Perry, however, Whitfield only referenced one tweet that demanded Harris-Perry’s termination. Other tweets or Facebook posts calling for the MSNBC host to be fired have been scarce, and no terms regarding the controversy have trended nationally.
Since Sunday, Fox and CNN anchors have aired a variety of programs and panel debates dedicated to criticizing Harris-Perry and her guests for what they have labeled as “insensitive” and “smug” comments.
“I think it’s shameful the way she behaved, the way the panel behaved, to make fun of and belittle the situation and the generosity of the spirit of the Romney family,” Kimberly Guilfoyle said on Monday’s episode of Fox’s “The Five.” “I don’t know why she still has a job there, actually.”
Perhaps the strongest words came from CNN anchor Don Lemon on Monday night.
Lemon called Harris-Perry and the entire team over at MSNBC “smug,” adding that they make no attempt to create diversity of opinions in their programming.
Lemon said that if anyone from a network other than MSNBC had made similar comments, “Jesse Jackson would be protesting and tied to a tree somewhere.”
Lemon admitted his issue with MSNBC was personal and he vented about the many times that MSNBC has criticized him for comments he has made on his own show. He said that he never responded because “dogs are supposed to howl at the moon, the moon doesn’t howl back.”
Direct competitors with Harris-Perry’s show, which is still the top-ranked news show for viewers between the ages of 18 and 34, have continued attacks on the segment through their own programming and personal social media.
