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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Hate it when racist hypocrites spew their vitriol on all of us, then cry obnoxious,alligator tears and ask forgiveness to save their jobs. Go to the back of the bus with Paula Deen!
That was a nice, heartfelt apology. We've all spoken out of turn before and said something we wish we could take back. You would think in this day of Twitter and social media that we would all be a little more understanding of foot-in-mouth disease but it seems like people are villified if they say one thing wrong, or voice an opinion that is unpopular, like that Duck Dynasty redneck. These people aren't elected officials, they are just people on tv. So everything they say doesn't have to be given so much validation.
This is a fine example of how this country has turned into a namby-pamby nation of wimpy lackluster egotists who are afraid to speak their minds over any subject to the point where the tail now wags the dog. For crying out loud, why do we have to worry about anyone's feelings anymore. This is going to get this nation's arce in a sling and we are going to have to fight the next war in our own backyards. Are we going to feel bad and offer an apology for kicking someone else's butt or are we going to stand up and state what we feel regardless of what we say and then stand behind it. Enough of this politically correct garbage, all it does is inbreed a bunch of worthless people that never felt that winners or losers are a part of life, too worried about hurting someone's feelings, and building a nation of pot smoking numb jerks that want to tell everyone how to run their lives. We live in the USA, a nation of free speech! Say it like you have a set and stand behind it with out fear of employer's or anybody jumping your butt!
She appologized. That's a good thing. Now lets concentrate on shutting down the Klan (Fox News) channel. The Klan stopped burning crosses and left the corn fields, now they own the Fox News (Klan) channel.
I read the apology....it's a pretty damn hollow. If you're going to claim to have these values of respect, etc for diverse families, then don't make jokes that clearly demonstrate that you do NOT have those values.
People who have the values she is claiming they have at MSNBC wouldn't have made the jokes in the first place.
She's only sorry about the backlash, not the statement, with all if these MSNBC incidents it is beginning to seem that MSNBC is to news what Jerry Springer is to reality...
You never see Middle Class white people adopt black babies onlt rich white people adopt black babies they are the new Gucci bag to rich white women fact.
The honorable thing to do would be to resign. Of course, no one at MSNBC ever considers that their blatantly liberal bias could be evil or malicious; so that will not happen. Harris-Perry shed crocodile tears to keep her position, as the house racist and bigot.
Tearful apology? I assumed the anchors were inferring that the Republican party were the racists ones.
This is nothing new for MSNBC. It's just standard procedure for the clown college they call a network.
Bogus apology, I am offended. I am a White American Male with an inter racial child and I am sick and tired of these extremist liberals poking fun at everything and anything Republican.
The left wants to destroy this country and they are succeeding. They have divided this country against itself and will even compromise their own so called values to tear apart the Right. This is proof of their agenda for a single party, which will only leave the federal government as corrupt as Illinois. One party one power = absolute corruption.
She's not sorry. She's embarrassed she made fun of an infant, but she didn't notice it at the time because she truly does believe that minorities aren't allowed to be members of the GOP.
Not buying this apology; the tears were inspired by fear of losing her job.
All this oversensitive nonsense it's just going to lead us into a civil war if we don't put a lid on it.
When will we hear Obama's speech about how that could be his grandchild?
Well she is just apologizing because her job is on the line. If no one ever commented on this, would you see her tearing up?
how about firing her?
duck dynasty is different, he expressed his opinions off the air, not on the show, She expressed on the show
The things they do to try to boost their ratings as they continue to fall. Perhaps a redo of the entire business model may work. For such a smart woman she sure is dumb. Who is next on MSNBC to come out with a really stupid remark on air???? How about adding Nancy Pelosi as an anchor! She always has good things to say that play back really well.
I really hope that child grows up learning to cook so she can be married off to some deserving man by the time she is 16. Right Duckie lovers?
This is what passes for political debate on MSNBC.
Jeremy Vaile gives a view of a brave new world; where scientific poseurs will be selling a potion to cure imbeciles like him to no avail. Like minded idiots will be here forever. They cure? Shine the light of logic and scientific inquiry on them. They cannot stand the sunshine of clear thought
Oh the hypocrisy of the left. They claim to be all caring and so open minded, except in reality their the opposite.
Whenever women cry while apologizing for doing something it makes it look very fake
a tearful apology. what a phony!! she has always been a pompous narcissist, a racist.
VoteForPedro, care to give some examples?