Former “Good Morning America Weekend” anchor Janai Norman is criticizing her former employer, accusing ABC News and other news organizations of being “complicit in upholding white supremacy” over their coverage of the death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells.
Norman, whose contract with ABC News was not renewed earlier this year, has posted a series of videos scrutinizing the network’s coverage and some of its biggest personalities, including “GMA” co-anchor Michael Strahan, according to Status, which reported Friday that her comments have raised eyebrows among some former colleagues.
In one video, Norman objected to Strahan’s interview with the parents of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old who was found dead after a boating trip with friends in Mississippi. During the interview, Strahan asked Wells’ parents why their son would have voluntarily stayed behind on Horn Island, based on the account provided by friends who were with him.
Norman argued that Strahan should have challenged that account more directly.
“The question should have been, ‘Do you believe that?’” Norman said. “Not asking these grieving parents to defend a decision that we don’t even know for certain their deceased son made.”
Norman called the question “insensitive” before broadening her criticism to news organizations’ reliance on law enforcement accounts and invoking Mississippi’s history of racial violence.
“By ignoring that context, news organizations become complicit in upholding white supremacy and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, end up playing into racial divisions,” she said.
Norman has separately scrutinized ABC’s coverage of a New Mexico court ruling ordering Meta to pay $567 million in a child-safety case, comparing a “World News Tonight” report with NBC’s coverage. Norman praised ABC’s handling of the story in several respects, saying its headline and introduction were “more specific” and that anchor David Muir provided more thorough context than NBC’s Tom Llamas by making the connection between children and teens, social media and mental health.
Norman nevertheless criticized ABC’s decision not to include some of the judge’s stronger language about Meta, arguing that the omission softened the report.
“And by not using it, it almost protects Meta,” Norman said. “It softens how the story lands.”
Norman’s criticisms come several months after her departure from ABC News. The network declined to renew her contract following roughly 15 years with the company. Norman confirmed her departure in April, saying her time at ABC had been “cut short” and that she was heartbroken she did not have an opportunity to say goodbye to viewers on air.
Status reported that Norman and ABC subsequently engaged in a “contentious back-and-forth,” primarily involving her forthcoming book. Norman said she changed the book’s cover after ABC objected to her use of a network photograph.
Since leaving the network, Norman has adopted a more outspoken posture on social media, where she has repeatedly told followers: “I used to do the news. Now I just report the facts and uncomfortable truths.”
She is scheduled to appear alongside former ABC News president Kim Godwin at an “Off the Record” industry event in Atlanta on Friday.
ABC News did not comment for this story.
