Amid Fox News harassment scandals, Obama speechwriter warns Chris Wallace, Shep Smith 'you're part of something evil'
Former President Barack Obama's speechwriters Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett appealed to Fox News hosts on their podcast "Pod Save America" on Monday, following new reports about sexual harassment cases that were covered up by the cable news giant. The topic arose as the hosts recapped reports that Fox News and Bill O'Reilly paid around $13 million to settle sexual harassment and verbal abuse accusations made by five women since 2002.
"I am just so sick of, in the conversation about media organizations ... it's like, 'And then there's organizations on the right like Fox News that just have a conservative viewpoint and organizations on the left like The Huffington Post.' No. Fox is nothing like that. Fox is a garbage organization that protects sexual harassers," Favreau said.
He added: "There are some legitimate reporters in there. A few left. A few."
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Lovett jumped in, addressing Chris Wallace and Shep Smith directly. "You guys gotta look in the mirror," he said, "because you're a part of something f---ing evil. And you can't pretend it's not. It is evil. There is evil in the world." Lovett sighed: "It's so awful, man."
Listen to the entire podcast below, with the discussion of Fox News beginning at minute 29. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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