MSNBC host offers tearful apology to Romneys
Updated 1:49 p.m., 1/4/2014
(CNN) - MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry made a tearful apology to Mitt Romney’s family on her show Saturday, after she and a panel poked fun at a photo of the former Republican presidential candidate with his wife and 21 grandchildren by zeroing in on his adopted African-American grandson.
"Whatever the intent was, the reality is that the segment proceeded in a way that was offensive, and showing the photo in that context, of that segment, was poor judgment. So without reservation or qualification, I apologize to the Romney family," said the anchor at the open of her show, "Melissa Harris-Perry."
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Harris-Perry became emotional as she went on to apologize to all "other families formed through transracial adoption," saying, "I am deeply sorry that we suggested that interracial families are in any way funny or deserving of ridicule."
She highlighted her own interracial background, as the daughter of an African-American man and a white Mormon woman. But, she said, families are always "off limits," and the Romneys' grandchildren should never have been a topic of discussion.
"Adults who enter into public life implicitly consent to having less privacy. But their families, and especially their children, should not be treated callously or thoughtlessly. My intention was not malicious, but I broke the ground rule that families are off limits, and for that I am sorry," she said.
Harris-Perry first apologized on Twitter and MSNBC's website Tuesday, offering a similar mea culpa "without reservation or qualification."
During the segment last Sunday, Harris-Perry asked a panel to come up with a caption for the Romney family photo, and two panelists made jokes about the infant standing out.
Actress Pia Glenn began singing lines from the song popularized by Sesame Street, "One of These Things Is Not Like the Others." Comedian Dean Obeidallah said the picture "really sums up the diversity of the Republican Party."
Obeidallah appears frequently on CNN and writes a regular opinion column for CNN.com.
Harris-Perry described the baby as "gorgeous" and joked that in 2040 he would marry North West, the daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
"Can you imagine Mitt Romney and Kanye West as in-laws?" she said, to laughs.
Criticism was swift across social media, with prominent Republicans from Sarah Palin to former Sen. Scott Brown weighing in.
A spokeswoman for Romney told CNN he was on a family vacation this week and unavailable for comment. On Sunday, Romney will appear on “Fox News Sunday,” where he is likely to be asked about the episode.
MSNBC has been in some hot water recently after a handful of their hosts have made controversial comments. Alec Baldwin and the network parted ways in November after his homophobic outburst against photographers, and Martin Bashir resigned in December for his suggestion that Sarah Palin deserved graphic punishment for comparing U.S. foreign debt to slavery.
–CNN's Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
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Yet another overly emotional moronic woman blathering on tv and giving women a bad name.
I'm pretty sure the Romney family can take an innocent joke by now 😉
i wonder what she thinks of all the white hollywood progressives who like to accessorize with african and asian babies.
Those tears are not for what she said, they are flowing because she is afraid she may get fired. Wait a minute, this is CNN. She's safe.
She would have never apologized if there had not been public outrage at her remarks. Ya' gotta love those liberals, nasty as snakes until they get busted in their own rants of hatred and intolerance. If MSNBC had any gumption they would fire her (and disappoint the 37 people who actually watch her show).
You're right Steve and the wags on both sides egg it on...
Anyone who has listened to her knows She absolutely believed in what she was doing....spare us the apology and just run with it.
Uh the outrage from the right is hilarious though considering the racial dirt thrown at the Obama family all the time...
I worked with kids for many years.. And one family with 12 children, decided to take in a child who's mother was using drugs, who's father was black.. His family not able to care for this child..
He was a sweet little boy of 6..
The parents wanted to do the right thing.. The good thing.. And bring him into their family.
Well.. I watched as the kids daily, treated this child like an outsider.. Calling him names, ridiculing him telling him he did not belong…etc..
So I have to say.. That considering the kind of people the Romneys very much appear to be..
I would assume this child is not like the others.. And will not be treated like the others.
And it being brought out by Mellisa perry was nothing compared to what the child could very well endure in the middle of this all white. very privileged group of grandkids..
I am sure the fact they were doing him a very generous favor will at some time come up.
And if you think not, then you don't know kids at all..
He is one alone in the middle of this white family.. And he WILL take some heat..
You can't put that many kids together and expect otherwise..
This family might have thought this was a kind thing.. But time could very well prove otherwise...
You are Kidding!! The right has consistently slammed/blocked/harassed pres Obama, his wife, and a few shots at his girls over the years. The only reason Melissa had to apologize was because she's
an anchor..noone is held accountable on a a daily
basis for bashing O and his handling of anything! He has been called everything..and Romney adopts a black child where suppose to think he's o.K? I don't feel badly for the Romneys..I feel badly for the child!!
MSNBC says it All. Trash Talk is their Mission Statement from The Manhattan Socialist Nation of NY City and DC.
Unforgivable...so called progressives are nothing more than smug racists. They appoint themselves judges of right and wrong without possessing a moral compass. They twisted Romney's 47% comment into a negative despite it's factual basis. Now they've taken something positive and tried to twist it into something for their agenda – but it was simply more hate.
Out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaks .Some times we say what we are thinking ,unable to catch the words released
in the atmosphere before devastation .
Ultimately having to apologize what we did
mean. Boundaries and compassion are priceless characteristic that we all need A fresher course in.
Cry me a river.
WE live in a society today where we have to be worried about everyone's feelings. It does not matter how small the joke or how little the problem, if someone is slightly offended and wants some television spotlight all they have to do is cry foul over the smallest slight. We live in a society where if someone is hurt or does not like your sense of humor, you can go to jail or they will take your livelihood away over it. Instead of the big problems, we worry about what some backwater bumpkin says about gays and his religion or the jokes an anchor makes about and extremely white bread family. We need to get of this high horse and stop trying to extort people and make them bend to our wills. God forbid we try to control our own lives and focus on the things that really matter...
The only reason she is sorry is because of the backlash and her career is in jeopardy. Let's all remember that this innocent little baby will grow up read all this nonsense some day. Hope she is happy for tarnishing a his first Christmas!
She's sorry she broke a rule? How about sorry for insulting her own mixed racial roots, her own father, her own mother, mormon's in general? No? It's ok to insult good people that aren't litigious because they're good people and they're not litigious. Ever see them going after muslim terrorist polygamist families? No...because that is the extent of their courage. Wanna bet not one of them would wear a tee-shirt that says "gun free zone"?
Bye. Don't let it hit you on the way out.
Melissa Harris – Perry...........Racist Racist Racist Racist !
This kind of cracks me up because if this would have happened on fox news and it was about a black child jesse jackson and al sharpton would be whining about this for weeks and try to exploit as many people as they could to push their own agendas... And i'm black... And i see it... It is just funny because they always portray republicans as mean spirited bigots when here they are bullying and poking fun at someone's race or differences
Just another little baby jigabo lol
They should fire melissa Harris-Perry
For that comment about Romney's adopted grandson
What's the whistle
Mitt adopts children Obama ignores his half brother and uncle..We wonder why this country is a mess?
Don't apologize to those right-wing swine. DOUBLE DOWN!!!