Wait, I thought only Fox News was the network of racists according to the mainstream media?
CNN has been named in an ever-widening racial discrimination lawsuit which claims African-Americans are routinely graded lower on performance reviews and are victims of a wide pay rate disparity between individuals of equal standing.
That could make things super awkward for a network whose anchors would love nothing more than to cover a similar lawsuit at their rival, Fox News.
The plaintiffs in the case allege that CNN and its sister companies ‘have been mistreating black managers since the late 1990s’ and that “internal policies ensure black employees aren’t promoted as often or to positions as high as are white employees.”
Via the Hollywood Reporter:
But Fox News is hardly alone. We’re not suggesting any equivalency. Only that the growing lawsuit against CNN deserves attention, too.
Last December, CNN and other Time Warner units were hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court. The named plaintiffs include Celeslie Henley, who says she worked at CNN for seven years until she was allegedly fired after emailing human resources about discriminatory treatment.
Unlike the lawsuit against Fox News, the one against CNN and sister companies is much broader, claiming among other things that African-Americans receive lower performance ratings in evaluations, that there are dramatic differences in pay between similarly situated employees of different races and that the promotion of African-American employees is blocked by a “glass ceiling.” The complaint (see here) cites hiring and advancement statistics while alleging that African-American employees have endured slurs from superiors, including “It’s hard to manage black people” and “Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?”
Conservatives on social media have been quick to pounce:
Over to you @brianstelter https://t.co/ohqzMnCyPy
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) April 5, 2017
.@CNN is really really racist. https://t.co/p5IXtPPDPw
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) April 5, 2017
Hi @ChrisCuomo: Why is CNN so racist?https://t.co/OgGCK1huwT
— JWF (@JammieWF) April 5, 2017
It gets worse.
While the lawsuit involving Fox News began with two individual and expanded to a third this week, CNN’s lawsuit may be ready to explode.
An amendment to the plaintiff’s motion states that “counsels for the plaintiffs have been contacted by more than 175 people … requesting to be members of the putative class action, all having similar complaints of intentional racial discrimination, discrimination impact and discriminatory practices employed by the Defendants.”
A recent snarky tweet from CNN anchor Don Lemon mocked Bill O’Reilly and Fox News for not covering the former’s sexual harassment allegations.
False. I did not refuse to cover the story. But I did cover your sexual harassment allegations. Did you? https://t.co/sJ5mQQgx2E
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 4, 2017
So when will CNN start covering its own racial discrimination lawsuit?
Perhaps those who live in glass houses …
Do you think CNN is in some hot water with this racial discrimination lawsuit? Share your thoughts below.
