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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This woman is a broadcast professional? She appears to have really bad judgment, as well as a speech impediment.
You know what? Apologies should be accepted when they are sincere, and I think Melissa Harris-Perry's apology was sincere.
The problem is that she had an underlying acceptance that it is okay to poke fun about race, when politics are involved. Deep down inside, her political views trumped what we call 'political correctness', but in reality is racism. Her comments were racist, and came from the heart, with no PC filter.
Yes, her comments were racist...even though she is black, and came from a Mormon upbringing. Racist comments are not limited to white on black, or black on white, or even, in this case, black on black.
I don't condemn her, and I think her apology should be accepted, but I think this is a good example of how politics are pulling the races farther apart, instead if uniting them. Thanks to Melissa Harris-Perry, for calling attention to the political benefits of promoting racism.
Why did she apologize? This is a non-story. None of those comment those folks made on that show were racist. I wish Melissa would have had the guts to not apologize.
Could you imagine if a conservative went on her racist rant? This woman is disgusting. She's not sorry. This is what she believed, which is why she said it. She's sorry she got caught.
She should have apologized and did. Ironic that these days it is only the left that knows how to do the right thing.
She should have apologized and did. Ironic that these days it is only the left that knows how to do the right thing.
@Steve: "Very sad how divided our country has become. The time is coming when conservatives will move to red states and liberals will move to blue states and all states will fight with Washington and each other. I don't see how any of this ends well for us...."
You have described the GOP end-game in a nutshell: distraction, anger, fear, hatred and division. And in the meantime folks like the Koch brothers continue to amass wealth and – thanks to Citizens United – influence.
They envision a country where there is no middle class: just a couple families that own and control everything and the rest living in squalor, fighting over ideology, their hopelessness and powerlessness making them easy to radicalize.
It's no coincidence that the Bush and Saudi Royal family are so tight: the Middle Eastern societal model is very appealing to the GOP.
This is an apology to the Romneys? It is no such thing. It is psychobabble with no clear point.
Mitt sure looks happy with that black baby. Who's boy is that, his maids?
@dnokc: "Liberals are such hypocrites!"
So says someone from the "family values" party who thinks retaining subsidies for the oil industry is good and providing hungry children with food stamps is bad.
That was a real sad day for the liberal tabloid show from the Micro Soft National
broadcasting (MSNBC)Company/
Pia Glenn and dean Obeidallah along with Milissa should pack their bags.
There is no place for racism on TV anyplace. Period!
They probably didn't even adopt it. They most likely payed one of their servants $50 to use her baby for a photo op.
Loser
Why do we never hear an apology on Fox News? I have heard more "dog whistles", hints, wink-winks, on fox relating to Obama. The conservative right wing radio and tv broadcasters are brutal. Definitely a double standard.
Sooo when is she losing her job...
The sincerity of the racist hypocritical progressives is reflected clearly in the commentary below this story in these posts. America has had it with the bile and endless screed of MSNBC and the left.
The biggest racist are these black liberals who always cry about the injustices that whites have done to blacks - in truth many blacks discriminate against their own kind!
Well, I wonder if she would be still on the screen if she did the exact same thing to any gay or lesbian individual!
Bring out the crying towel, the croc tears are flowing.
It is a pity that 99% of you have the gall to judge. Have your Bible's sat unopened for so long that you have forgotten that you simply have no right to judge another human being. Your vanity, hypocracy, your blind selfishness..., it is not a good thing to wear, especially into your graves. Get your hearts right, people. You judge, and you will be judged.
Personally, I find it disturbing that we or in this case Millisa, has to apologize when Others such as Sarah Palin, and Cruiz, and Cantor and hundreds of others, can make ANY kind of statement they want about the President of the United States and it is ok!!
Apology accepted. Let's move on.
She still should be fired. The nerve of some people
To all you RWNJs calling for the dismissal of Harris-Perry, have you also called for the firing of Rush Limbaugh for his comments about women, minorities, the President, etc.?
Or how about calling for the firing of Bill O'Reilly, who said that President Obama should order the kidnapping of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, and that Pelosi should be waterboarded?
*crickets*
Why are MSNBC staff apologizing every other week?
Because they're unthinking, unfeeling idiots and they know no one is watching.
The right wing outrage machine?
You've got it backwards dork, not surprising as I'm sure it's how your life goes.