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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She should be FIRED! Someone making that kind of money in broadcast journalism should KNOW BETTER!
Are you sure the boy is African-American? Did you see his Birth Certificate?
But, seriously, folks.
This shouldn't have happened on MSNBC:-(
I just wanna hear her say "sufferin succotash" one time
Yeah right, the only reason she's apologizing is because her job is on the line. Oh wait, she's mixed race – they probably can't fire her. If she was WHITE, she would have been escorted out of the building already.
Everyone here comparing MSNBC to Fox are just ridiculous. All of a sudden, liberals are the racist bigots that have been campaigning for years against racial integration.. Keep believing your own bs. Why don't you just call out all your elected representatives or your media talking heads that defend "stand your ground" or "stop and frisk" laws, or object to social programs to help minorities, such as affirmative action. Enough self-righteousness and ludicrous outrage for today...
i believe her
i believe her tears were real
we're just not used to anchors being
glib AND then so apologetically sincere
Too bad she didn't "justify" her comments with a bible quote, eh Phil Robertson? Haha. This is 'Merica–land of the ignorant, home of the bass-ackward.
So does this mean we'll be serving watermelon at Romney picnics or not? Us liberals gotta know!
MSNBC merely continues to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Left. Meanwhile, they're getting bashed in the ratings by rival FOX.
She mostly missed the point. Yes, it is wrong to ridicule the family of a candidate or public official (unless the family does something that directly reflects on the candidate or official). But the real wrongness here was making fun of a white family for choosing to adopt a black baby (I am assuming it is adoption; if not, my sentiment is still valid).
Love is SUPPOSED to be color blind. If anything, this should be seen as a positive thing, not something to poke fun at (although there are candidates who might actually use such an action to try and score points - which would be repulsive - Romney clearly did not do that).
A black baby in a white family will be LOVED. Likewise, a white baby in a black family (or asian family or whatever race or color or ethnicity at all) will be loved. That is the point - not that Romney's family is off limits.
"Difference between MSNBC and FOX?
MSNBC apologies for transgressions & insults." –VoteForPedro
–
No, Fox employs people mature and educated enough such that mistakes such as this are never made.
Sorry, pal, but one of your own just revealed the intrinsic racism you all harbor.
Typical msnbc liberal intolerance showing. An apology doesnt matter. The tiger still has stripes.
now she know how it feels to be called a racist when you just made a stupid comment to be funny, something MSNBC and CNN do all the time to people.
The ONLY reason she apologized was out of fear – fear of losing her job.
Too bad Obama hasn't improved our economy during these last 5yrs, or she might be ok sticking to her guns and finding a new job. (We all know she meant every word she said – she was laughing during the clip I viewed on YouTube)
Either way, I NEVER watch MSNBC – they're opinion more than fact. Liberal race baiters who are intolerant of any differing opinions.
Fire her, maybe if they cleaned house their ratings might go up. They certainly can't go down anymore, LOL!
Did she have her tampon earrings on? What a freak. Fire the whining hag. Shut down the bigoted MSNBC FOR good.
Her 'punishment' should be whatever she felt was appropriate for people like the Duck Dynasty doofus, Imus or any other person in the media that made an off color comment.
If she felt they should be fired and unemployable then that's what she should be. If she felt that 'people make mistakes, they apologized and we should move on' then that's what should happen to her.
She is a dick, her standard drivel is racist and inflammatory, this xact evnt wa not that big of deal.
The Romney's need to produce the baby's adoption papers, and even then, we should cast doubt on whether it is a legitimate adoption just like the Republican birthers do to Obama. Maybe they just rented the baby for a photo op?
@ Bradley Olsen...Where you born an idiot or just stumbled into it?
Whats da deal wit u all.dont u no only white foke can b racist.cus there all rich slave owners.all of them.not even 1 is poor.white's all use $100oo bills as TP.n thay live in 3,,000,000oo homes all of them.its ok 2 be bad 2 them n hate them.thay have everything.n stolle it all.Dr.King's dream u no he was just kidin.hate is da way 2 go hate hate hate.u no there was 100,000 black n brown families tryin 2 adopt that baby but da damb white's out bid everyone.its not right for that baby 2 have 2 live wit dirty light skined people.
First of all romney is a loser;if he weren't he'd be president LOL (btw im not a democrat or conservative or anything actually im my own party so faack you)
Second, yeah msnbc blew this up and I mean the apology. Duck dynasty got away with an attack at a whole community so why can't this ONE politcal joke (among millions of others) just be as common as rain? Because America is overdramatic, and get tooo up in it's feelings over things that are irrelevant like the Vietnam war.
Oh, and all of you that keep going on about how the nation is gonna divide and battle eachother blah blah please shut up that will never happen so get your postapocalyptic movie scenarios out of here and get real.
Last but not least, I took a photo of the anchor and printed it out then put it in my toilet and went to the bathrooom if you all feel better now that I said that
so much unnecessary hate. Left/right/dem/repub its just too much these days.
That is the free speech Palin so hardily defends. It is only outrage if the other side is doing it. Lighten up people!!
Why hasn't she been fired yet?
Dear god, its like the female version of Glenn Beck. If she keeps it up she'll get her own tv channel.