Al Sharpton recently told the SCLC that just because a person makes a mistake, it doesn’t mean that we should forget all of the good things he has done. No, he wasn’t talking about himself. He wants black America to apply some Christian forgiveness to Jesse Jackson, who has fallen out of favor after accidentally threatening to violate the sanctity of Barack Obama’s balls in front of a live mic.
On Wednesday, Fox News popinjay Greta Van Susteren picked a fight with on-air foe Al Sharpton over the reverend's supposed ditching of her show Tuesday night, less than two hours before he was supposed to appear, to go on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 because Barack Obama's campaign supposedly asked him to. Now, because we paid attention the first time around, we must also chronicle what happened next. Namely, a round of he-said-she-said. CONTINUED »
Proverbial reverend Al Sharpton insists he did not out Anderson Cooper.
Sharpton appeared on Cooper’s CNN show Wednesday to discuss James Dobson’s attack on Barack Obama, who Dobson claims is “distorting” the bible. Arguing against Dobson, Sharpton said, “I may have some very conservative personal feelings, but I feel you have the right to live your life differently. I may think that what you do Anderson is gonna put you in Hell, but I’m gonna defend your right to get there.” Loads of people took this to be an unintentional “outing.”
Sharpton, however, claims he’s clueless to Cooper’s carnality.
Seven hundred sixty-five comments later, it's still unclear whether, ahem, Barack Obama's campaign is booking for CNN. That's what Fox News host Greta Van Susteren was asking on her blog GretaWire yesterday when the Rev. Al Sharpton pulled out of a 10pm appearance on her show less than two hours before he was supposed to go on, so he could instead pop up on Anderson Cooper 360. His excuse? The senator's campaign asked him to appear on CNN on his behalf.
Nevermind that this is sort of a non-item — guests cancel segments all the time (bookers do too!) for one reason or another, and a phone call from Obama's camp, which Sharpton vehemently supports, isn't a light request. But our favorite part of Greta's complaint is the set up, where she gets away with planting an item out of her duty to viewers: "I debated whether to tell you this or not…but I did promise behind the scenes information here on GretaWire….so here it is." (Not that we're complaining about any addition to a gossip war.)
Let's not forget, however, than Ms. Susteren and Mr. Sharpton haven't always seen eye-to-eye. CONTINUED »
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper found himself the center of attention on his eponymous show last night.
The silver fox had invited Focus On The Family’s Tony Perkins, journo Roland Martin and Reverend Al Sharpton, whom we were surprisingly happy to see you. Well, we weren’t happy to see him, but we were tickled pink when, while discussing James Dobson’s blasting of Barack Obama, Sharpton kinda, sorta outed Cooper: “I may have some very conservative personal feelings but I feel you have the right to live your life differently. I may think that what you do Anderson is gonna put you in Hell, but I’m gonna defend your right to get there.”
Cooper blushed before thanking Sharpton for his concern and insisting that he personally is “not that concerned” about his afterlife. And, really, why would he?
Watch the video, after the jump!
The Rev. Al Sharpton, whose Sean Bell protests shut down Manhattan's bridges and tunnels for much of yesterday, was arrested. [Reuters]
Awkward moment for Fox Sports:
We're predicting Al Sharpton will demand the firing of the Fox Sports' call-in screeners.
Every pondered the mystery that is Rev. Al Sharpton and wondered how this largely irrelevant person has managed to become "the voice of all black people?" despite having no cultural, societal or political accomplishments to name?
Apparently, the Washington Post is just as confused about the man's career trajectory as we are. "Any other public figure with such a comic resume and dubious traction among his constituency would find himself swiftly jettisoned from the Rolodex of reporters and network anchors. But Sharpton endures."
What can we say? The man's got "fungal game."
Did you hear? A racist (falsely!) purporting to work at Merrill Lynch has been sending out hate-filled emails to a number of non-famous black people who actually work there! And, weirdly, also to Rev. Al Sharpton.
We're not sure how exactly the political activist's name got thrown into the mix, but we're guessing it has something to do with the fact that whenever there's even a hint of racial tension, you just know Sharpton has to be involved.
This week the NYPD arrested two white men in the beating of a black Staten Island resident. In a press conference yesterday outside of Staten Island University Hospital, Al Sharpton said, "We cannot live in a city, state or nation where people cannot safely be in the streets or anywhere else because of the color of their skin.”
Wow, Al Sharpton will even go to Staten Island for a press conference.
Nas makes a political statement (and, conceivably, an error in judgment) by titling his forthcoming album "Nigga." thereby preemptively alienating his largely Caucasian fanbase and rendering its name unpronounceable to prep school gangstas across the country. [Stereohyped]
The Jena Six are released on bail; Al Sharpton is on hand to remind us we're still "fighting the fight" for civil rights and equal protection. And, of course, to refocus all the attention on Al Sharpton. [Stereohyped]
MSNBC fact-checkers fell for an unfunny Al Sharpton parody, blasts Keith Kelly. And as a result, Sharpton was (prematurely) credited with turning Michael Vick's dogfighting conviction into a divisive race relations issue.
A sheepish spokesperson admits, "Sharpton's quote did seem rather outlandish at the time," then adds, "We just figured that meant it was authentic."*
*Fine, no one actually said this. At least, not as far as we know.
Yesterday, Don Imus' longtime cohort, Bo Dietl, hinted that that Imus might be back on the airwaves as early as this September. Which, naturally, prompted Radar to wonder how unrelated third party, Al Sharpton, feels about all this.
My position is that we never called for him to be permanently barred from being on the air," he says. "We'll see when he comes back, and if he comes back, what are the boundaries and what is the understanding. We'll be monitoring the situation, but we wanted him to pay for being a repeat abuser, and he paid. We never said we didn't want him to make a living."
By which, we presume, Sharpton is really saying, "Yeah, I'm pretty much just happy to see my name in the press—or at least Radar—again, after that embarrassing 'roboho' fiasco."
Summer time, and the living's easy. The days are longer, the sunny afternoons are best spent frequenting outdoor cafes, admiring the cherry blossoms and sipping on ice cold lemonade (vodka mixer optional) while the evenings are perfect for impromptu games of hopscotch and leisurely strolls through Central Park.
But what to do when you're a giant-haired rabble rouser in search of racial injustice? Why, strike up a random argument with TMZ over their characterization of Beyonce's fugly chainmail ensemble!
In fact, that's exactly what Al Sharpton has done! More specifically, for lack of anything more important to protest, the self-proclaimed social activist has written TMZ a scathing letter over their (obviously racist!) assertion that Beyonce's award show duds made her look like a "roboho."
Fortunately for, well, society, TMZ has responded the only way they know how: by denying any/all wrongdoing and invoking the patented "Joan Rivers" defense.
In the wake of Reverend Jerry Falwell's death earlier this week, we've been lying awake at night, tossing and turning as we tried to make sense of it all. Thankfully for us, the calm and always prescient Christopher Hitchens puts Falwell's passing into proper perspective, with a thoughtful tribute the Moral Majority leader, neutrally entitled, "Faith-Based Fraud: Jerry Falwell's foul rantings prove you can get away with anything if you have 'Reverend' in front of your name."
CONTINUED »
In case you "forgot" to set your DVR for the battle of the wits shameless yelling between Al "Reactionary" Sharpton and Bernard "I Came Up With The 'Nappy-Headed Ho's Bit" McGuirk, the NYP breaks it down for you!
The headline? "REV. AL AND IMUS GUY IN HO-DOWN." And, from the sound of it, it was a real doozy!
The Rev. Al Sharpton and fired shock-jock Don Imus' longtime producer, Bernard McGuirk, faced off on Fox News Channel last night in a fiery "debate."
"Let's get ready to box on Fox!" crowed McGuirk, as the two combatants sat down for round one of the segment.
As McGuirk, who was canned along with Imus after the "nappy-headed hos" incident last month, spent most of the Hannity & Colmes show charging Sharpton with hypocrisy while Sharpton spent most of the time fighting back.
And, lest you think the verbal sparring match dropped off towards the end, the Post quickly assures us that wasn't the case, noting that "[a]t one point it seemed Sharpton might even leave the set after being called a 'crude, humorless opportunist' by McGuirk."
Oh, SNAP! The conclusion (and sporadically available video excerpt) after the jump!
CONTINUED »
Editorial Director
