Christiane Amanpour apologizes for controversial comments on CNN: 'It was insensitive and wrong'



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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Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

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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CNN host forced to apologize after downplaying murders of Israeli family at hands of terrorists



CNN host Christiane Amanpour apologized Monday for previous reporting in which she appeared to downplay the murder of an Israeli family.

What is the background?

On April 7, two Israeli-British sisters — 16-year-old Rina Dee and 20-year-old Maia Dee — were shot and killed while traveling in their car outside of a settlement in the West Bank. Their mother, Lucy Dee, was also wounded in the attack. She died several days later.

Israeli officials condemned the attack as an act of terrorism, and Hamas — a terrorist group based in Palestine — later praised the attack.

Three days later on April 10, Amanpour described the incident as a "shootout" while interviewing Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh about violent happening in the region.

What did she say now?

On her show Monday, Amanpour issued an apology for falsely describing the murders as having occurred in a "shootout."

She said:

On April 10, I referred to the murders of an Israeli family: Lucy, Maia and Rina Dee, the wife and daughters of Rabbi Leo Dee. I misspoke and said they were killed in a "shootout" instead of a shooting. I have written to Rabbi Leo Dee to apologize and make sure that he knows that we apologize for any further pain that may have caused him.
\u201cCNN host Christiane Amanpour has apologised to Rabbi Leo Dee after she \u201cmisspoke\u201d and said his family were killed in a \u201cshootout\u201d last month\u201d
— The Jewish Chronicle (@The Jewish Chronicle) 1684833066

The apology only came after Amanpour faced repeated demands for a mea culpa. Israel's Foreign Ministry even got involved in the matter earlier this month.

Rabbi Leo Dee — the husband and father of the murdered victims — rejected Amanpour's apology, saying the one she wrote to him is "not worth the paper it’s printed on."

"The fact that they said they were killed and not brutally murdered by evil Palestinian terrorists funded by Iran is the typical ‘CNN-ism,’ where they basically try and make this a comparison between the victim and the terrorists," Rabbi Dee said.

Anything else?

Israelis security forces believe they killed the two Hamas terrorists responsible for the deaths of the Dee family. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 4 that Israel had "settled accounts" with the terrorists.

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CEO of parent company that owns CNN offers refreshing journalistic honesty over anger about Trump town hall



Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav shot down on Thursday complaints from CNN talent over providing its audience with "both sides" of an issue.

Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

What is the background?

The decision to host a town hall with Donald Trump has caused internal strife at CNN, though network executives have defended their decision.

At the Columbia Journalism School commencement on Wednesday, Christiane Amanpour delivered stinging criticism for hosting Trump, suggesting the network was guilty of engaging in "bothsidesism," which she used pejoratively.

"Be truthful, but not neutral," Amanpour said. "Bothsidesism is not always objectivity. It does not get you to the truth. Drawing false moral or factual equivalence is neither objective or truthful. Objectivity is our golden rule and it is in weighing all the sides and hearing all the evidence, but not rushing to equate them when there is no equating."

Amanpour used the Ukraine war as one such example where "bothsidesism" is not always acceptable because Ukraine "is the victim of a Russian imperialist illegal aggression."

The speech came after Amanpour met with CNN CEO Chris Licht to share her grievances about the town hall. According to CNN, Licht encouraged employees to watch Amanpour's speech, when he knew beforehand that she would address the town hall.

What did Zaslav say?

Speaking at a media and technology conference in New York, Zaslav said he believes CNN must show "both sides" of news stories to regain trust with Americans.

"Our view is there's advocacy networks on either side. We have the best journalists in the world. We need to show both sides of every issue," he said. "CNN should be the place that people come for the best version of the truth and for journalism."

When CNN joined the Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate last year, CNN's new corporate leaders brought with them significant vision changes for the network. For years, CNN was plagued by talent and news decisions that Americans believed reeked of political advocacy — not journalism. The result was distrust and poor TV ratings.

Zaslav said Thursday he shared that view: CNN, before changes, was "left-leaning." But that is changing in a positive direction, he said, pointing to a recent poll that showed a double-digit increase in audience trust. With that improvement, he said companies are returning to the negotiating table.

"[A]dvertisers are interested in CNN again. They don't want to be part of an advocacy network," Zaslav said. "We've had meeting after meeting and they say, 'We're with you.' CNN has a digital audience of 150 million."

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'The interview didn't happen': CNN's Christiane Amanpour refuses to meet demand that she wear a headscarf in order to interview the Iranian president in New York



CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour said that she had been scheduled to interview Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in New York, but the interview fell through after she declined to meet a sudden demand to don a headscarf.

"Protests are sweeping Iran & women are burning their hijabs after the death last week of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest by the 'morality police'. Human rights groups say at least 8 have been killed. Last night, I planned to ask President Raisi about all this and much more," Amanpour tweeted. "This was going to be President Raisi's first ever interview on US soil, during his visit to NY for UNGA. After weeks of planning and eight hours of setting up translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were ready. But no sign of President Raisi," she added.

Amanpour noted that 40 minutes after the session had been slated to begin, an aide to the Iranian president delivered the ultimatum that she must wear the headscarf or else the interview would not take place.

She recounted that "40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a headscarf, because it's the holy months of Muharram and Safar."

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," Amanpour continued. "The aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not wear a headscarf. He said it was 'a matter of respect,' and referred to 'the situation in Iran' - alluding to the protests sweeping the country," she noted.

"Again, I said that I couldn't agree to this unprecedented and unexpected condition," Amanpour noted. "And so we walked away. The interview didn't happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi," she concluded.

\u201cAnd so we walked away. The interview didn\u2019t happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi. 7/7\u201d
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour) 1663850355

Michael Phelps addresses transgender swimmer controversy, declares that sports must 'be played on an even playing field'



Swimming legend Michael Phelps addressed the controversy surrounding transgender swimmer Lia Thomas last week and expressed the importance of fair competition.

Thomas — a University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was born a biological male and competed as a male swimmer for most of her life — has dominated female competition in recent months.

Although Thomas took one year of testosterone suppression treatment in compliance with NCAA rules, critics believe that Thomas has an unfair competitive advantage. After all, Thomas was a highly competitive swimmer when competing as a male, even earning second-team All-Ivy League honors during the 2018-2019 swimming season.

What did Phelps say?

Speaking with CNN host Christiane Amanpour, Phelps said that sports must "be played on an even playing field," something critics of Thomas say is not possible when a biological male completes against biological females.

"Look, like, I will say — I can talk from a standpoint of doping. I don't think I have competed in a clean field in my entire career," Phelps said. "So, I think this leads back to the organizing committees again, because it has to be a level playing field."

"I think that's something that we all need, because it's — like, that's what sports are," Phelps continued. "And, for me, I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know what's going to happen. I believe that we all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should all be played on an even playing field. I don't know what that looks like in the future. But it's hard."

Phelps, a 23-time Olympic gold medalist, described the situation as "very complicated" but emphasized fairness in sports competition.

"This has been my sport my whole entire career. And I — honestly, the one thing I would love is everybody to be able to compete on an even playing field. That's all I can say," Phelps said.

Reacting to ongoing debate over trans college athlete Lia Thomas competing on the women\u2019s swimming team, \u201cit\u2019s very complicated,\u201d says @MichaelPhelps. \u201cWe all should feel comfortable with who we are in our own skin. But I think sports should be played on an even playing field.\u201dpic.twitter.com/brsq7t2vJW
— Christiane Amanpour (@Christiane Amanpour) 1642099658

Thomas made headlines again last week after she allegedly compared herself to Jackie Robinson.

"She compares herself to Jackie Robinson. She said she is like the Jackie Robinson of trans sports," one of Thomas’ teammates told the Washington Examiner.

"She laughs about it and mocks the situation. Instead of caring or showing that she cares about what she’s doing or what she’s doing to her teammates, she’s not sympathetic or empathetic at all," the teammate added. "Lia never addressed our team. She never asked if it was OK. She never asked how we felt. She never tried to explain how she feels. She never has said anything to us as a group. She never addressed anything."

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Jewish Group Blasts CNN Over Christiane Amanpour Comparing Trump Supporters To Nazis

'She never even acknowledged that she slanderously equated and analogized Kristallnacht's horrors to pro-Jewish, pro-Israel, pro-American President Donald Trump,' the group wrote.

CNN anchor backtracks from Trump-Nazi comparison after being called out by Israeli government



CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour was blasted last week after she compared President Donald Trump's presidency to the reign of terror that Nazi Germany unleashed on Jews in Nov. 1938, infamously remembered by history as "Kristallnacht."

Now, the CNN personality is backtracking.

What did Amanpour say?

Amanpour made her shocking comparison while celebrating Joe Biden's media-declared victory over Trump in the election.

"This week 82 years ago, Kristallnacht happened," Amanpour said on her CNN show. "It was the Nazis' warning shot across the bow of our human civilization that led to genocide against a whole identity and, in that tower of burning books, it led to an attack on fact, knowledge, history and truth."

"After four years of a modern-day assault on those same values by Donald Trump, the Biden-Harris team pledges a return to normal," she added.

This is ⁦⁦@camanpour on⁩ ⁦@CNN⁩ comparing Trump’s tenure to Nazi Germany. How the hell is this sort of prejudice to… https://t.co/vHe3KE6drY
— Ben Habib (@Ben Habib)1605208223.0

As TheBlaze reported, Amanpour was widely condemned by Jews, politicians, and media figures for offensive comparison.

Even the Israeli government demanded that Amanpour apologize.

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Omer Yankelevitch said in a letter to CNN, "Using the memory of the Holocaust for cheap headlines or a political agenda is concerning and distorts the historical and moral truth."

"Distortion and minimization of the Holocaust are deplorable lies that only encourage the evil voices of anti-Semitism. Employing the memory of the Holocaust for cheap shock value and to further a political agenda is a deeply troubling and offensive spin of historic and moral truths with dangerous implications," Yankelevitch added.

What is Amanpour saying now?

On her show Monday, Amanpour expressed regret over her comments, but did not offer an apology outright.

"And finally tonight, a comment on my program at the end of last week. I observed the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, as I often do — it is the event that began the horrors of the Holocaust. I also noted President Trump's attacks on history, facts, knowledge, and truth," Amanpour said.

"I should not have juxtaposed the two thoughts," she continued. "Hitler and his evils stand alone, of course, in history."

"I regret any pain my statement may have caused," she added. "My point was to say how democracy can potentially slip away and how we must always zealously guard our democratic values."

Anything else?

The comparison triggered anger because, as the U.S. Holocaust Museum explains, "Kristallnacht was a turning point in the history of the Third Reich, marking the shift from antisemitic rhetoric and legislation to the violent, aggressive anti-Jewish measures that would culminate with the Holocaust."

Indeed, on that fateful November night, Nazis pillaged Jewish businesses, synagogues, schools, and homes. Dozens of Jews were murdered, and approximately 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.