CNN Called Out for ‘Genuinely Dangerous’ Rhetoric on Kanye West

The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald slammed CNN for its commentators’ rhetoric in a recent segment where rapper Kanye West was attacked over his support for President Trump. Greenwald tweeted Thursday that the comments made about West were “genuinely dangerous.”

During a Tuesday night segment on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, CNN commentators Bakari Sellers and Tara Setmayer went after Kanye West, insulting his intelligence and repeatedly referring to him as a “negro.”

Setmayer called West an “attention whore” and a “token negro,” while Sellers said “Kanye West is what happens when negroes don’t read.” Many Twitter users reacted by calling the segment racist.

.@Bakari_Sellers: "My issue with Kanye West is quite simple — is that anti-intellectualism simply isn't cool." https://t.co/FVeCRODqXl pic.twitter.com/rhH5nWSubZ

— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 10, 2018

As Glenn Greenwald points out, the panel also used West’s mental health as a weapon against him–all because he had the wrong opinion.

CNN’s Tara Setmayer attacked West for his mental health, saying, “No one should be taking Kanye West seriously. He clearly has issues. He’s already been hospitalized.”

“Exploiting and mocking the fact that someone has previously sought medical treatment for mental health issues in order to disqualify them from participating in public debates and being taken seriously is reprehensible & CNN should be ashamed of itself for airing that,” Greenwald tweeted Wednesday.

Exploiting and mocking the fact that someone has previously sought medical treatment for mental health issues in order to disqualify them from participating in public debates and being taken seriously is reprehensible & CNN should be ashamed of itself for airing that (see 2:40). https://t.co/k1Qv1jXkrh

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 11, 2018

#MentalHealthAwarenessDay from CNN pic.twitter.com/O7mbC05Wbb

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 11, 2018

“What makes CNN’s weaponizing of mental health treatment against Kanye West extra repulsive: a mere 4 months ago, the suicide of their own colleague, Anthony Bourdain, followed by Kate Spade’s, sparked a national discussion about the dangers of this stigma,” Greenwald followed up Thursday.

That CNN segment wasn't just reprehensible but genuinely dangerous, jeopardizing people's health. But because it was used to mock & shame someone with the Wrong Ideology, it barely causes a ripple among those who would otherwise be rightly furious if it were done to anyone else.

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 11, 2018

“That CNN segment wasn’t just reprehensible but genuinely dangerous, jeopardizing people’s health. But because it was used to mock & shame someone with the Wrong Ideology, it barely causes a ripple among those who would otherwise be rightly furious if it were done to anyone else,” he also tweeted.