People slammed the Fox News host for disrespecting a politician who has been involved in US politics for several years. After Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden named Kamala Harris as his running mate in the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday, one Fox News anchor lost his cool after a guest corrected him on how her name should be pronounced.
Anchor Tucker Carlson was talking about Harris with guest Richard Goodstein, who has served as an advisor to several Democratic presidential campaigns. As Carlson began to talk about Harris’ many comments, Goodstein intervened to correct him on how to pronounce her name.
“This is something that will serve you and your fellow hosts on Fox,” Goodstein said. “Her name is pronounced ‘comma’ ― like the punctuation mark ― ‘-la’… Kamala.”
“Okay. So what!” Carlson responded.
“I think out of respect for somebody who’s going to be on the national ticket, pronouncing her name right. It’s kind of a bare minimum,” Goodstein countered.
“So I’m disrespecting her by mispronouncing her name unintentionally?” Carlson said when the guest tried to interject.
“So it begins, you’re not allowed to criticize Comma-lah Harris or Camel-eh Harris or whatever,” the anchor said.
“OK, look I unintentionally mispronounced her name,” Carlson conceded adding “But I love the idea that she’s immune from criticism.”
The two then continued to debate, with Carlsen not attempting to pronounce her name correctly.
Tucker Carlson loses it when a guest corrects his pronunciation of Kamala Harris’s name pic.twitter.com/1fHIrPGuwN
— nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) August 12, 2020
Some wondered why the anchor refused to apologise and got annoyed, while others claimed it was not an “unintentional mistake”.
Like, okay, putting aside that everyone and their cousin has heard the name “Kamala” a million times over the several years, it’s such an easy to pronounce phonetically. Tucker Carlson’s brain saw a woman of color and had to make the name difficult. That’s what happened.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) August 12, 2020
Refusing to pronounce Kamala’s name correctly when you’re a broadcast « journalist » is racist.
But we already knew that about Tucker. https://t.co/INvo6mhKZj
— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) August 12, 2020
Because he obviously was mispronouncing it intentionally. It’s a well known power move by arrogant guys to let everyone know that the other person is insignificant.
— Dan Todd (@dtodd_411) August 12, 2020
That initial laugh when he’s asked to respect a woman. It’s the laugh you greet something you deem preposterous. https://t.co/UvVRSQNjME
— Cian (@Cianaf) August 12, 2020
Tucker says this was unintentional, but he does often mispronounce the names of people he is critical of. It’s sort of a thing on his show. Seems pretty intentional! https://t.co/XfvAkKQ7W7
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 12, 2020
Says “unintentionally mispronounced her name” and then intentionally mispronounces it twice in a row.
— 🎸The Amazing™ Daniel (@DanielOfOmaha) August 12, 2020
“So I’m disrespecting her by mispronouncing her name,” generic white guy says incredulously https://t.co/WIBwi8lI3D
— Claire Goforth (@clairenjax) August 12, 2020
Because he is a fragile man. Someone who is confident and comfortable with themselves, sees no issue when they are corrected. People of quality, which Tucker is not, welcome “ criticism”. That’s how they become better people. Also, he’s a racist.
— Josh (@JoshuaTaylorK) August 12, 2020
Very petty, @TuckerCarlson. She’s a Senator and VP nominee. You can’t try to pronounce her name correctly? The guest politely advised, and you called it an attack. You intentionally mispronounced it again! Time to go trout fishing again.
— Tara Jordan (@jordantl) August 12, 2020
The guest is 100% correct – pronouncing her name the right way is important. Had a CS teacher once that recorded everyone pronouncing their name and then used their names correctly for the rest of the semester. Most important lesson I had for future success.
— we must do better🛹 (@harpo20201) August 12, 2020
What does he find so hilarious as he’s corrected for pronouncing her name incorrectly? pic.twitter.com/HXvbemEVxS
— Mike P Williams (@Mike_P_Williams) August 12, 2020
@TuckerCarlson, however you say her name [insert laugh], is indeed rude & disrespectful.
She didn’t choose it, her name is worthy of at least acknowledging it’s pronunciation. Laughing & dismissal isn’t warranted.
But I only expect the worst from the likes of you.— Bonzai (@BonzaiO69) August 12, 2020
Being corrected on pronouncing her name means she can’t be criticized? Quite the leap, even for tucKKKer 🥴
— MLE @🏡☁️🌺🌊 (@MLEco2h2o) August 12, 2020
It’s Tucker Carlson job to know how to pronounce Kamala Harris’s name. He’s a newscaster. No excuses for it.
— Leah Thompson (@mosings970) August 12, 2020
Everyone who has had people mispronounce their name even after being corrected felt this in their marrow. The disrespect. You don’t mispronounce a name that has been in the public sphere for this long. Disgusting.
— Destiny Wallace (@destinycallzu) August 12, 2020
The fragile while male intentionally mispronouncing a woman’s name to make himself feel what?
Superior? He can’t pronounce or remember the name of a well known Senator?
Makes him look stupid.
Hysterically defending himself is just more proof that white men are far too emotional— MinxyMasksAreSexy24 (@Minxy2424) August 12, 2020
Harris, whom Biden chose as his running mate for the 2020 US Elections, will be the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
