Longtime CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour offered a lengthy apology for comments comparing the treatment of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the plight of the residents in the Gaza Strip.
Amanpour was reporting on the historic peace deal negotiated by President Donald Trump for Hamas to return hostages to Israel, both living and the remains of the dead. Even critics of the president have had to acknowledge his efforts to secure peace.
'I regret also saying that they may have been treated better than many Gazans because Hamas used these hostages as pawns and bargaining chips.'
"Earlier live on air, I spoke about what a day of real joy this is, for Israeli families whose loved ones are finally being returned from two years of horrific Hamas captivity, and for civilians in Gaza, who have finally had a reprieve from two years of brutal, deadly war," she wrote.
"I noted that for the hostages who are finally home, it will take a long time for them to recover mentally and physically. But I regret also saying that they may have been treated better than many Gazans because Hamas used these hostages as pawns and bargaining chips," Amanpour added.
"It was insensitive and wrong," she wrote.
"From speaking to many former hostages and their families, like everyone I've been horrified at what Hamas has subjected them to over two long years," she continued.
"They've told me their stories of barely being able to breathe in the tunnels, not being allowed to cry, being starved and made to dig their own graves — and of course today, some of the hostages are coming back in body bags," she concluded.
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For some, Amanpour's apology fell on deaf ears.
"This almost looks like an apology. But what you said didn't surprise me even one bit," replied former Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus.
"You have been consistent in your systemic disdain for Israel," he added. "So many masks have fallen since October 7, yours being one of the first ones to fall and reveal your true colors."
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What if, in 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Johnny Carson opened “The Tonight Show” with jibes about how one of King’s own supporters had pulled the trigger? What if he followed with a gag suggesting that President Lyndon Johnson didn’t care much about losing a friend? Or how maybe we need to keep up the pressure on conservatives who think free speech includes engaging those who disagree with them in civil dialogue?
Does anyone believe NBC executives would have shrugged and said, “Let Johnny talk — free speech, you know”? Does anyone think Carson’s 12 million nightly viewers would have treated it as harmless banter and tuned in the next night with curiosity about what he might say next?
Jimmy Kimmel needs to ‘grow a pair,’ take his lumps, and find another venue.
When the members of the first Congress wrote the First Amendment, enshrining freedom of speech, they did it within the context of the words of John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
St. Paul puts it this way: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say — but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ — but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
Sadly, I was included in an email from a dear relative who chided anyone who did not protest Jimmy Kimmel’s firing, citing the First Amendment. My relative felt very strongly about this. In his own words, if you didn't loudly defend Kimmel, you needed to “grow a pair.”
My wife and I had just finished watching the entire eight-hour-long, beautiful, uplifting, and spirit-filled memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Before I went to sleep, I decided to clear out my email inbox for the day. Unfortunately, I opened the email from my relative (thinking it was just the usual newsy missive) and read his thoughts.
He had written his opinions before the service, so I am not sure if he would have sent the same message; he made it clear that what happened to Charlie was certainly serious and evil.
My relative used words I had heard before from those who want to virtue signal, while also insisting that doing bad things is not acceptable. It was a variation of this: Yes, what happened to Charlie Kirk was wrong, terrible! But ...
If you hear people on the left — or even people who consider themselves rational, reasonable people “in the middle” who like to play the both-sides-are-wrong card — you need to push back. Comparing the temporary suspension of a mediocre, inconsequential talent like Kimmel to the assassination of a beautiful, influential man like Kirk — well, they are not in the same arena.
Since I was the only one on the email thread who knew Charlie personally (we had been colleagues at Salem Radio), I felt my comments would carry more weight.
I highlighted the Martin Luther King Jr.–Carson comparison and then focused on the “free speech” aspect from a purely business standpoint.
Jimmy Kimmel loses tens of millions of dollars for the network annually. It's been said that his viewership was so low that if you posted a video on X of your cat playing the piano, you could attract more viewers than Kimmel gets on any given night.
Moreover, the claim that Kimmel was denied his First Amendment rights is simply untrue. Kimmel remains free to say whatever he wants anywhere else. For example, when Tucker Carlson (who had the hottest show on Fox, making millions for the network) was canceled for speaking the truth politically, he launched his own “network.”
The funny thing is (no, not jokes from Kimmel’s opening monologues), unsuccessful shows hosted by people with varying degrees of talent get canceled all the time in the world of television. If that were not so, we would all be subjected to the 59th season of “My Mother the Car,”starring Jerry Van Dyke.
RELATED: I experienced Jimmy Kimmel’s lies firsthand. His suspension is justice.
Lackluster shows are replaced by something for which the viewing public actually cares to tune in. The public had clearly tuned out of Kimmel’s show a long time ago.
What Jimmy Kimmel needs to do is “grow a pair,” take his lumps, and find another venue. Nevertheless, Kimmel has (viola!) returned after all, because I suppose the network figures it still hasn’t lost enough money — or influence.
Young Charlie Kirk paid the ultimate price for standing against the obvious evil he saw in plain sight. And in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, many more, unfortunately, may join him.
My relative closed out his email challenging those of us who didn't agree with him to respond à la Charlie: “Prove me wrong,” he wrote.
I closed my email response to him in a way I think the humble Charlie Kirk might have done: “Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'” (John 14:6).
“Prove Him wrong.”
Jack Black's bandmate in comic rock outfit Tenacious D apologized Tuesday for saying "don't miss Trump next time" during a weekend concert in Australia following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
After a tidal wave of backlash, Black took to Instagram Tuesday morning, said he was "blindsided" by the words of his bandmate Kyle Gass, and canceled the Tenacious D tour while noting that "all future creative plans are on hold."
'What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement.'
"I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form," Black added in his statement.
Gass added his own mea culpa Tuesday on Instagram:
“The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” Gass said in his statement. “I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”
What's more, Variety added that the Greene Talent agency dropped Gass.
During the Tenacious D concert in question, video shows Black singing "Happy Birthday" to Gass onstage as a birthday cake is presented to him. Black then tells Gass to "make a wish."
With that, Black's bandmate waits a few seconds and says, "Don’t miss Trump next time," before blowing out the candles. Black replies, "Thank you!"
It sounds on one clip as though the audience's reaction was mostly laughter and applause. Yahoo News said one crowd member remarked, “You could hear a couple of ‘oohhs’ — like 'too soon' sort of vibes — but the vast majority was laughter." The outlet added that numerous fans praised Gass’ comment, while others criticized the "bad joke."
However, comments under the previously noted video — which was posted to X — seemed decidedly negative:
Even an Australian senator demanded the deportation of Tenacious D, according to Deadline.
Deadline also said Black's band had another week of concerts in Australia and was scheduled to venture to New Zealand as well.
Tenacious D also was to embark on a U.S. tour in October, Deadline said. According to Variety, Tenacious D was scheduled to play a series of October concerts to support Rock the Vote, the "nonpartisan nonprofit organization that encourages young people to vote."
Deadline also said Black is a vocal supporter of Democrats and last month endorsed President Joe Biden.
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After the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend, a North Carolina police officer hopped on Facebook and wrote, "Damn. Only about an inch away from making America great again…” WNCN-TV reported.
As you might imagine, the post proved a costly miscalculation.
'My attempt at dark humor was completely out of line and in poor taste.'
Detective Sgt. Brandon Richardson — a 24-year veteran of the Tarboro Police Department — is now on on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, WNCN reported. Tarboro is a town of just over 11,000 residents and sits a little over an hour east of Raleigh.
The police department in a Facebook post of its own Monday said it "is aware of an inappropriate social media post made by one of our officers. We take this matter very seriously, as it does not reflect the values and standards of our department."
The department's message added that after they caught wind of the post, officials took "immediate steps to address the situation: An internal investigation has been launched to determine the context and details surrounding the post. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation. We are reviewing our social media policies to ensure they align with best practices and clearly communicate our expectations."
WNCN reported that Richardson issued an apology on his Facebook page that appears to have been taken down. The station reported that his post read in part, “My attempt at dark humor was completely out of line and in poor taste. I realize now that my words were not only inappropriate but also deeply offensive to many of you. For that, I am truly sorry.”
Richardson's post added that he takes full responsibility, WNCN noted, adding that he made an appeal to “keep Mr. Trump and his family in our thoughts as he heals from this physical and mental wound.”
WNCN reported that Richardson joined the Tarboro Police Department as a patrol officer in 2000 before being promoted to detective with the department’s investigation division in May 2014.
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Case Western Reserve University ordered anti-Semitic messages on a pair of walls at the Cleveland college painted over this week — and video caught the moment when pro-Palestinian students standing in front of one wall got hit with spray paint themselves.
University President Eric Kaler on Monday said pro-Palestinian protesters painted an advocacy wall near Eldred Hall with threatening and anti-Semitic language and later painted the Spirit Wall near Thwing Center with intimidating language, WJW-TV reported.
"The lengths this university goes to defend Zionist Genocidal interests is insane."
Kaler said in an email that the messaging on the walls was “threatening, intimidating, and anti-Semitic,” Cleveland.com reported, adding that the college hired contractors to paint over the walls early Tuesday morning.
Well, some pro-Palestinian students weren't having it and stood in front of one of the walls, presumably believing the contractors would spray-paint around them.
Uh, not so much.
Here's how Case Western's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine described the scene:
"The lengths this university goes to defend Zionist Genocidal interests is insane," the SJP post on Instagram reads.
Cleveland.com reported that 18-year-old Ameer Alkayali is seen in the video being spray-painted. A Palestinian-American who just finished his freshman year at the University of Cincinnati, Alkayali has been protesting with Case Western students since the first day of their encampment last week, the outlet said.
“I stood against the wall, and the painters asked, ‘Should we continue?’ The cops showed general confusion and didn’t tell them to stop,” Alkayali told Cleveland.com. “So, as seen in the video, they continue to just paint right over us. They told us to not put our hands in front of the machine because it’s dangerous. And we put our hands up, and they still continued to paint on our hands and sprayed us with it?”
Alkayali told the outlet he's planning legal action against Case Western and its public safety department: “We were coughing, and it didn’t come out of my skin for hours. Like it’s still in my hair. I can see it under my nails, and there was no sort of medical or any assistance with the situation after from Case or local police.”
Kaler in a Wednesday morning statement said he was “deeply sorry” about the students’ treatment, WJW reported, adding that the school president's statement reads, in part:
I have reviewed video footage, which depicts students blocking the wall as a third-party contractor spray painted directly onto protesters as he attempted to finish painting the wall, and I am disturbed by what occurred.
Let me be clear: No students — or any individuals — should ever be treated this way, especially on a campus where our core values center on providing a safe, welcoming environment. This is not who we are as an institution, and I am deeply sorry this ever occurred.
The university will continue to fully investigate these actions and hold individuals responsible for this behavior, including the failure of our own officers to intervene.
Again, I want to reiterate my sincere regret for this incident. As with any violation of our codes of conduct, we will take action to hold them accountable.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Police Chief Annie Todd issued a joint statement on Wednesday that suggests protesters faced “criminal interference” with their First Amendment rights, WJW also said, adding that their statement reads, in part:
Cleveland is a city for everyone, and we must respect the thoughts, feelings, and voices of those who come from various backgrounds. These diverse perspectives are what makes us special, and ultimately stronger, as a city. Our community deserves venues where they have the ability to constitutionally express their opinions openly without fear of criminal interference.
We support 1st Amendment rights and implore CWRU leadership to consider this and think about how the decisions they make and the actions they take — especially against those who are abiding by the law — will influence some of the progress we have collectively made as a city. At the same time, we urge individuals to demonstrate peacefully.
Cleveland.com reported that the Spirit Wall was painted again Tuesday night — but with a pro-Israel message: “They call for intifada so we call them terrorists.”
Protesters spray painted by contractors at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland youtu.be
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A Philadelphia gay bar banned a Palestinian burlesque dancer from taking the stage because of her sign "targeting" Jews — but following fierce drag community backlash, the bar apologized.
A Dec. 8 show at Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar in the city's so-called Gayborhood advertised Palestinian burlesque dancer Leila Delicious as one of the featured acts, but the bar stopped her performance, which would have used a sign that read, "OUR GENERATION WILL FREE PALESTINE," PhillyVoice reported.
An X post from performer Mew Ikki indicated Tabu had told Delicious that the bar didn't want political commentary or performances about the Israel-Hamas war, the outlet said.
The next day Tabu released a now-deleted statement on social media saying the bar "strongly condemns all forms of hate speech, including the recent display of a sign promoting genocide against Jews," PhillyVoice said, adding that the bar said an image of Delicious' sign making the rounds lacked "full context" since it showed only showed one side — and that the other side "contains text targeting the Jewish community."
The text on the other side of the sign read, "BIDEN, DEMAND A CEASEFIRE / IF YOU SUPPORT GENOCIDE, You ISREAL DUMB!"
— (@)
PhillyVoice said many in the city's drag and burlesque community blasted Tabu on social media, challenged the bar's claim that the other side of the sign was anti-Semitic, and rose up in solidarity with Delicious, saying they wouldn't perform at Tabu or attend shows there.
With that, Tabu deleted its original statement condemning Delicious and posted a longer statement Sunday afternoon, the outlet reported: "While our initial decision to prevent a performer from addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict was made with the intention of fostering a positive environment, we now recognize that it had unintended consequences."
The statement from the bar — which PhillyVoice said didn't immediately respond to requests for comment — added that the original move was meant to ensure "emotional safety" for everyone in the venue and that Tabu "may have misinterpreted the intention" of the sign, which did not promote genocide against Jewish people.
The statement also included an apology to Delicious, who was not directly named in the text, and added that Tabu management will reach out to her for an "open conversation," the outlet noted.
In a follow-up story, PhillyVoice said nearly 70 performers and producers signed a letter expressing solidarity with Delicious and demanding more action from Tabu's ownership.
The outlet said attorney Amer Zahr, who's also president of New Generation for Palestine, shared the letter with PhillyVoice, adding that the letter says Tabu's statement placed Delicious "at considerable physical risk," citing recent anti-Palestinian hate crimes, and lists two demands: a commitment to "freedom of expression and speech" with concrete guidelines on what is allowed and an apology to Delicious that retracts the accusation of "promoting genocide."
“I am simply calling for justice, dignity, and respect. I never thought that calling for an end to genocide would end up in an accusation of genocide against me," Delicious said in a statement included in Zahr's email, the outlet added. "Sadly, the environment we are in seeks to silence Palestinian voices. As a Palestinian, I refuse to be silent."
PhillyVoice said the letter's signees indicated they won't perform or work at Tabu until management meets the letter's demands.
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'The Commission agrees that it may not consider irrelevant factors in performing its function and specifically agrees that it will not take into account the perceived political beliefs, political speech, or labor practices of SpaceX or its officers.'
No matter how often Lewinsky reinvents herself, her constant, obvious attempts to recast herself in the role of victim are an affront to real victims.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday removed and apologized for its social media post sympathizing with the “victims and families impacted” by the U.S.’s strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, which were bombed Saturday night. The original post stated, “Our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran,” […]
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