This is further proof that many in the media view themselves as Obama’s PR flacks and personal cheerleading team. Just days after she cracked controversial jokes about the Obamas, calling the President “gay” and Michelle a “tranny,” Joan Rivers stormed off CNN after being berated by host Fredericka Whitfield.
Rivers snapped at Whitfield, “You are not the one to interview someone who does humor — sorry.”
Appearing on the network’s Newsroom segment, the 81-year-old fielded questions from anchor Fredricka Whitfield before fuming that she’s had enough…’This whole interview is turning into a defensive interview,’ Rivers announced. Rivers contended that she was there to discuss to her new book, Diary Of A Mad Diva.
This is certainly not the first time Rivers has made a crass joke about a politician — or anyone else, for that matter. Does anyone remember the media being so concerned with tone-policing when George W. Bush was in office? Can you imagine a CNN anchor haranguing Tina Fey over her Sarah Palin impersonation? (And not just because Fey was flattering herself when she decided she was a dead ringer for Palin!) Of course not. For starters, it’s generally understood that comedians are comedians, who often make a career out of poking fun at everyone and everything, regardless of party affiliation. Do they cross the line sometimes? Yes. But that’s the real issue: the media has a totally different, much higher standard of “going too far” when it comes to Republicans.
And when it comes to Obama, reporters are fairly open about what their role is: they’re lapdogs, not watchdogs. Why else would Whitfield haul a comedian onto the set to answer for insulting the Dear Leader?