CNN senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward is speaking out after five different women told her network that they had been sexually harassed by veteran political reporter Mark Halperin during his time at ABC.
This was an open secret when I was at @ABC for years- brave of these women to speak up. https://t.co/xQgu2xZMUk
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
Ward didn’t stop there, launching into a full-blown tweet-storm, commending the bravery of women who come forward and lashing out at men trying to shift responsibility onto women.
1) Amazing how many men lashing out on Twitter that I, or other women who had heard about sexual misconduct at @ABC are somehow responsible
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
2) As if these men have the first idea what it’s like to be a 26 year old girl starting out a career at a major network or any company
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
3) As if these men have any idea how much courage it takes for a young woman to stand up to an incredibly powerful and well respected man
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
4) As if these men know what it’s like to try to defuse an incredibly awkward and unwanted encounter with humor for fear of losing a job
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
5) As if most of us at that age aren’t just trying to be seen as competent equals with a bright future ahead and not a potential HR headache
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
6) Let’s be very clear- the one responsible for any sexual misconduct that may have taken place is the man who instigated it
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
7) NOT the women who were victims of it, nor their friends and colleagues who tried to support them through it
— Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward) October 26, 2017
On Wednesday evening, CNN broke the Halperin story, which included various accounts of unwanted kissing, groping and other forms of sexual misconduct. Halperin denied some of the charges to CNN, but nevertheless apologized. On Thursday MSNBC announced that he would be suspended from the network and a person familiar with the matter said it was unlikely Halperin would ever be seen again on “Morning Joe” either.