CNN’s Soledad O’Brien To Fox’s Roger Ailes: ‘I Was Named After The Virgin Mary’
Fox News chairman/CEO Roger Ailes referred to CNN’s Soledad O’Brien in a speech earlier this week to North Carolina journalism students as “that girl that’s named after a prison.” MediaIte, which reported Ailes’ remark, updated its report when O’Brien Tweeted a correction: “Um. I wasn’t named after a prison. Ailes is mistaken. I was named after the Virgin Mary.” O’Brien has addressed the issue before. Her name is Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien. Her father chose the name Maria de la Soledad to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude — which in Spanish is soledad.
Education is a wonderful thing. When you have it.
Education is indeed a wonderful thing, and so is a sense of humor. Since the chances of any parent naming their daughter after California’s “Soledad Prison” are zero, an educated person would have realized that Ailes was joking, even if the joke was disrespectful.
If that’s how you wanna view it, power to ya.
Which means that Ailes was being an asshole.
The fact that ignorance still exists shocks and amazes me. But what shocks and amazes me more are the people like you who protect and proliferate it.
The only “ignorance” on evidence is your own, in failing to see that no, Ailes didn’t really think O’Brien’s parents named her after Soledad Prison (because they just LOVED that prison so much?), he was making a joke. Call it a bad joke if you want. I said Ailes’ joke was “disrespectful.” Someone else above said Ailes was being an “asshole,” and I will accept that as valid. But only an idiot thinks “ignorance” explains what Ailes said. Frankly, being an asshole is worse than being ignorant. Ignorance can be innocent. Being an asshole involves ill-will.
HOW do you know he was joking?! That’s what racists do. They say racists things, get caught, then p-out with “I was just joking.” Like that “jester” on FOX news, Eric Bolling, when told Maxine Waters to get off the crack pipe, then after commercial, Bolling p’ed out and said he was joking. You’re worse, That’s your right to do that. But know that I consider you a racist because of it. You have no idea Ailes was joking. And regarding education, wouldn’t an educated man like Ailes be smart enough to know NOT to equate Soledad’s name with a prison? Ever thought of that, asshole racist?!
You’re right. It’s a bad joke.
Just like the entire Fox News Channel.
Considering the terrible fact checking, proofreading and misinformation displayed by FOX News, I don’t think you can completely rule out ignorance.
Ailes is a prick and Ms . O’Brien hasn’t been a girl in a long time. She is a fully grown woman sir.
This is true, Soledad is almost 46 years old.
But let’s be frank, both O’Brien and Ailes are political hacks. No humans are involved, here.
Especially the one who wrote the above comment
And you’re Mother Theresa, right? Once you start denying the humanity of someone, you are heading down a precarious road…
How is O’Brien a “political hack”? She’s a competent newsreader and pretty good reporter. (The hour long investigative special she did about the Atlanta child murders for CNN last year was riveting.) As far as I can tell, she was an innocent bystander here who Ailes took a swipe at for being female and having a name with Spanish origins.
Simply appearing on television does not negate one’s humanity.
Calm down. O’Brien and Ailes are essentially the same, political hacks. She pretends to go left, he pretends to go right. For now, at least.
You seem to think O’Brien is your special TV friend. She is – as a commenter pointed out – a “newsreader.”
Soledad O’Brien reads whatever text is projected before her. She repeats whatever is said into her earpiece. And when she strays beyond these limitations, she panics on live TV because Soledad O’Brien doesn’t always do her homework. Look her up on YouTube to watch your newsreader stammer and stare and repeat whatever is shouted into her earpiece.
And if Ailes offered her enough money, she’d have Roger Ailes shouting in her earpiece. Media figures aren’t your special TV friends, they’re hacks.
Well, the phrase “Roger was mistaken” is a pretty good description of Roger Ailes any time.
You go, Soledad.
I wouldn’t watch her if she was the only thing on TV in prison.
Beauty and the Beast. Go, Soledad, go!
It’s odd that the people who want Public Schools to get less money say things like this.
I wonder what he named his double chin after?
Ailes has been owned
It’s like saying Santa Monica was named after Father Christmas.
What a loser.
More cutting-edge output from Fox.
Winning comment!
Better you be named after a prison then look like the human version of Jabba the hut.
Please don’t insult Jabba like that. And @moretears, since Ailes does not have a sense of humor, how would one know it was a joke?! He insulted women and showed his ignorance in one sentence. Now, that is the unfunny truth.
Oh my goodness, Roger Ailes is a bigot and a misogynist? Say it ain’t so! Either way, go Soledad!