A CNN discussion on Jemele Hill completely derailed after Fox Sports Radio host, Clay Travis, announced, “I believe in only two things completely, the First Amendment and boobs.”
Although Travis hosts a show on Fox Sports Radio, the network issued a statement yesterday saying that he has not worked for the network for six months, i.e., his show is syndicated.
It's not hard to see why Fox would want to distance itself from him:
The CNN discussion started out with Travis regurgitating the bogus right-wing whine that ESPN had fired Curt Schilling for speaking out against North Carolina’s bathroom bill (when, in fact, he was fired for repeatedly violating company policy) whereas Hill’s tweeted accusation that Donald Trump is a white supremacist did not get her fired.
But Travis’ argument was buried by his following comments when he purported to argue that neither should be fired. Instead, he stunned anchor Brooke Baldwin and got himself banned from Baldwin's show (transcript excerpts via RealClear Politics):
TRAVIS: I’m a First Amendment absolutist. I believe in only two things completely, the First Amendment and boobs.
And so once they made the decision that they were not going to allow a conservative, non-sports-related commentary...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Wait. Did you just say you believe in the First Amendment - and—hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
I just want to make sure I heard you correctly, as a woman anchoring this show. Did you say—what did you just say?
TRAVIS: Yes.BALDWIN: You believe in the First Amendment and B-O-O-B-S?
TRAVIS: Boobs, two things that have only never let me down in this entire country’s history, the First Amendment and boobs. So, those are the only two things I believe in absolutely in the country.
At first, Baldwin tried to continue the discussion. She turned to her other guest, Keith Reed, a former senior editor at ESPN who called himself a friend of Hill’s. To his credit, Reed called out Travis.
The conversation devolved from there. A still-gobsmacked Baldwin asked Travis if she had heard correctly that he had said “boobs” and not “booze.” “Because, as a woman, I’m, I’m…”
But Travis was unapologetic.
TRAVIS: I said boobs. I believe completely in the First Amendment and in boobs. Those are the only two things I believe 100 percent in, in this country.
Then he tried to pivot to race baiting the African American Reed for going “straight to” discussing the racism and sexism Hill has faced in her career. Travis claimed the attacks on her have had “absolutely nothing to do with her background at all.”
TRAVIS: [D]id you notice that? He went straight to that.
REED: Yes. You’re absolutely right. I did go straight to that.
Unfortunately for Travis’ attempt to change the topic to conservative, white victimhood, Baldwin went back to the “boobs” comment and refused to let go. It did not go well for Travis:
BALDWIN: Why would you even say that live on national television? And with a female host, why would you even go there?
TRAVIS: I say it live on the radio all the time, because it’s true, and that’s what I do, because I like boobs and the First Amendment, which is exactly what I said.
REED: Listen, Brooke, I think that speaks for itself. I love the First Amendment as well. I also love women.
(CROSSTALK)
TRAVIS: You don’t love boobs, too?
REED: As one who truly—I’m not going to talk about that on television, because it’s irrelevant to the topic. It shouldn’t be brought up here.
TRAVIS: Why not?
REED: I’m a supporter of women in their careers.
I’m a supporter and a staunch supporter of women like Brooke, who I have shared the airwaves with before, and like Jemele, who is a personal friend of mine for a long time.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I’m done. I’m sorry. I’m done.
REED: And to have her anatomy brought up, to have anyone’s anatomy brought up in this conversation, completely...
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I’m done. This is done. This conversation over, yanking mikes. Bye. See you.
That was entirely inappropriate.
And it just took me—forgive me that it took me a second. It like live television happens, and you think you hear something, but you are not entirely sure. And then you realize it happened.
So, I apologize for him in that.
Later, Baldwin wrote up her thoughts on the segment.
As for my guest today—despite what he’s tweeting, he won’t be coming back on my show—ever. He works at Fox Sports Radio. Maybe he should learn from folks over at Fox News—being demeaning to women does have consequences.
Travis, with his typical “charm,” accused CNN of lying and played a voicemail of an invitation for him to appear on the network on Monday. But that was for a different show. And we’ll see if CNN still wants him.
He certainly deserves to be a persona non grata just about anywhere. This brief description from Media Matters speaks volumes:
In his “satirical” book, Clay Travis instructs men to go to hospitals to hit on rape victims, “dash” a woman’s head “on the fireplace,” refer to a wife or girlfriend as a “cockmitten,” and murder a woman’s cat in front of her and feed “the carcass to your dog”
Not surprisingly, Tucker Carlson seems to like Travis.
Watch the segment that got Travis banned from appearing on Brooke Baldwin’s show, from CNN’s September 15, 2017 Newsroom.
So he’s basically saying he has good self esteem?