It's time for MSNBC to address Carlson's comments

Dear Friend,

During a discussion Tuesday night on MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams about Sen. Larry Craig's (R-ID) arrest for "lewd conduct" and eventual guilty plea, Tucker Carlson described to fellow MSNBC hosts Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough his assault on a man who he said "bothered" him in a Washington, D.C., public restroom.

Carlson said, "Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous. It's also really common. I've been bothered in men's rooms." Carlson continued, "I've been bothered in Georgetown Park," in Washington, D.C., "when I was in high school." When Abrams asked how Carlson responded to being "bothered," as Abrams and Scarborough laughed, Carlson asserted, "I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the -- you know, and grabbed him, and ... hit him against the stall with his head, actually." The laughter continued.

Carlson's comments, coupled with laughter from Abrams and Scarborough, suggested to viewers that physical violence is an appropriate response to an unwelcome overture. This is dangerous and wrong.

MSNBC has yet to acknowledge Carlson's comments or address why Abrams and Scarborough laughed while Carlson recounted his actions. Instead, MSNBC has treated Carlson's comments as a laughing matter, re-airing the portion in which Carlson claimed to have been "bothered," but omitting the portion in which he seemed to boast of physical assault.

Organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) have called on Carlson to apologize for his grossly inappropriate remarks. Carlson has issued a statement completely revising his account of the alleged incident, but he has yet to apologize or to condemn acts of violence against gays and lesbians. And Carlson's revised account does nothing to mitigate the damage of his on-air comments. Meanwhile, MSNBC has remained silent about the incident.

This past spring, during the controversy surrounding Don Imus' racist and sexist comments, Steve Capus, president of NBC News, acknowledged "that there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that ... there should not be a place for that on MSNBC." He also stated: "This is about trust. It's about reputation. It's about doing what's right," later adding, "I hope we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place, to continue the dialogue about what is appropriate conduct and speech, to continue the dialogue about what is happening in America. I think we have, as broadcasters, a responsibility to address those matters."

He's right: This is about "trust" and "doing what's right." It's time for MSNBC to repudiate Carlson's comments or risk being seen as endorsing them.

Please contact MSNBC, Dan Abrams, and Joe Scarborough today and ask that they publicly address Carlson's comments. It's time for them to show they don't find humor in or condone the violence Carlson described.

Contact information can be found on the upper-right side of this page.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Jamison Foser
Managing Director
Media Matters for America

P.S. Click here to spread the word and help hold Tucker Carlson and other media figures accountable.

Posted to the web on Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 04:10 PM ET