COMMENTARY
Fox News Issues Weak Condemnation of Jeanine Pirro’s Islamophobic Comments Attacking Congresswoman – Won’t Fire Her

Fox News’ “Judge” Jeanine Pirro on Saturday delivered an intensely Islamophobic attack against sitting U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on her show, “Justice with Judge Jeanine.” In her diatribe Pirro suggested that because the freshman lawmaker from Minnesota wears a hijab she somehow is un-American and does not believe in the Constitution.
If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s the video:
Fox host Jeanine Pirro says that Ilhan Omar’s hijab may mean that she’s against the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/yxGRVoYkQm
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) March 10, 2019
Outrage was immediate and palpable, But Fox News executives first declined to comment, then waited more than 24 hours before finally issuing a statement saying they “strongly condemn” her comments.
“We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar,” network executives said in their short statement. “They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
Notice they did not say they were firing her, or even suspending her.
Just, “we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
The statement doesn’t even say, “she is remorseful,” “she apologizes,” or “she would like to apologize to all people of the Muslim faith.”
Nothing.
Just, “we have addressed the matter with her directly.”
That literally could have been, “Hey Jeanine, those comments you made on Omar? Way to go!”
That would also have “addressed the matter with her directly.”
It’s clear Pirro, who is a longtime friend of President Trump, has no remorse, no guilt, is not sorry.
We know this because she also wrote a statement, which was released with the Fox News executives’ statement:
Statements from Fox News and @JudgeJeanine re her commentary about @IlhanMN that was widely condemned as Islamaphobic. pic.twitter.com/yTEJZ0Zmfg
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 11, 2019
Pirro literally writes, “I invite Rep. Omar to come on my show,” which is almost exactly the same non-apology Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, under intense criticism for comments appearing to support statutory rape, also made.
Clearly the position of the Fox News network brass is our people can say and do anything, and we will not apologize or take any action against them.
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