New York Post op-ed editor Seth Mandel ripped Brian Stelter on Sunday, blasting the CNN anchor over his interview with New York City Mayor — and frequent Post critic — Bill de Blasio.
Mandel accused Stelter of allowing de Blasio to attack his paper and the broader Rupert Murdoch empire without offering sufficient pushback.
“Are you doing a parody of yourself? You brought him on and let him smear all the work we do and you didn’t f—ing challenge him on ANY of it,” said Mandel. “You ridiculous soulless clown.”
Is that a joke? “Post staffers say it makes me feel unsafe”?? Are you doing a parody of yourself? You brought him on and let him smear all the work we do and you didn’t fucking challenge him on ANY of it. That’s how you feel about local news, Brian? You ridiculous soulless clown.
Stelter was caught by surprise by Mandel’s criticism and attempted to take the high road.
“Your rage is shocking and unbecoming of you,” said Stelter. “I can see that you don’t want to have a real conversation. Have a good night, hope you have a better tomorrow.”
Your rage is shocking and unbecoming of you. I can see that you don’t want to have a real conversation. Have a good night, hope you have a better tomorrow.
“You gave [de Blasio] an unchallenged platform,” Mandel charged. “All because you want to keep the heat on Fox–and the NY Post be damned. I hope it was worth it.”
“I don’t know what interview you watched. I challenged him over and over again,” Stelter snapped back. “BTW: I would never call anyone a “ridiculous soulless clown,” and I’m astonished that you did.”
I don’t know what interview you watched. I challenged him over and over again. Again, here it is: https://t.co/6DleOhNIAo BTW: I would never call anyone a “ridiculous soulless clown,” and I’m astonished that you did.
The spat was over de Blasio, who has increasingly fashioned himself as a media critic. A review of the video does show that the CNN reporter did challenge many of de Blasio’s claims.
“When it comes to Newscorp they have a political mission and we have to be able to talk about it,” said the mayor in once instance.
“But singling out Newscorp. It’s like Trump singling out CNN. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Stelter hit back.
Mike Cernovich, a Timeline: From Choking Advice to Pizzagate to Firings (Photos)
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.
Advice on Choking Women
Before gaining fame as a Trump superfan, Cernovich got his start in the men's rights and pick-up artist community. His advice column, published on his blog "Danger and Play," included suggestions on the proper way to "choke" women during sex. This entry from December 2011 has since been deleted: "Choking works because it’s a show of dominance. Women only want to have consensual sex with men they know could rape them."
Pizzagate
Cernovich first came to wide public attention over his promotion of a conspiracy theory during the 2016 election that suggested that a pedophile ring was being run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria. The story was bunk, and Cernovich has moved to distance himself from Pizzagate.
Will Sommer/Twitter
John Conyers
Cernovich's biggest score of all probably wasn't James Gunn, but John Conyers. A tip provided by Cernovich to BuzzFeed about accusations of sexual misconduct forced the Democrat to resign his seat in disgrace in December 2017.
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Sam Seder
Mike Cernovich targeted the MSNBC contributor over a years-old joke about his daughter being raped. MSNBC dropped Seder in December 2017, but reinstated him after a public backlash.
MSNBC
Sopan Deb
Cernovich went after New York Times reporter Sopan Deb in March 2017 over a tweeted pun about the rapper Bow Wow. The incident earned Deb an official rebuke from the Times' then-public editor, Liz Spayd.
Josh Barro
In November 2017, Cernovich demanded an apology from Josh Barro after the Business Insider Senior Editor made fun of his lisp. Barro swiftly retreated.
Twitter
Perry Fein
In June 2018, Los Angeles Times freelancer Perry Fein slipped into Cernovich's DMs and wished harm upon him. His relationship with the newspaper was over just hours later.
Los Angeles Times Media Group
James Gunn
Last week, Cernovich helped lead an online campaign highlighting old tweets in which Gunn joked about rape about pedophilia. Gunn offered an apology, but was dropped by Disney from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.
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Cheri Jacobus
Before the James Gunn situation, Cernovich also led a brief and successful campaign to pressure USA Today to drop columnist Cheri Jacobus. The decision from the paper came after Jacobus' bizarre comments about convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Michael Ian Black
Cernovich has trained his fire on comedian Michael Ian Black, who has said several times on Twitter that his tweets about pedophilia were only jokes.
YouTube
Dan Harmon
Fresh off his victory in ousting Gunn from "Guardians of the Galaxy," Cernovich forced "Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon and his employers at Adult Swim to apologize over an old sketch that featured Harmon graphically simulating the rape of a baby. (The sketch used a doll, not an actual baby.)
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The right-wing provocateur has become a thorn to liberals online
Maybe you'd never heard of right-wing provocateur Mike Cernovich before last week, when he helped get James Gunn fired from the next "Guardians of the Galaxy" film by highlighting Gunn's old Twitter jokes about rape and pedophilia. But Cernovich himself has a long history online, filled with both successes and statements he has since distanced himself from -- for reasons that will be obvious.