Melissa Harris-Perry Receives A Whooping On Twitter Over Her Awful Rachel Dolezal Interview
Fraudulent narcissist Rachel Dolezal had the time of her life Tuesday as she got not one, not two, not three, but four interviews with NBC to discuss the story of her posing as a black woman while she served as a chapter president of the NAACP. After Today’s Matt Lauer handled her with kid gloves in his conversation with the Al Jolson of social activism, hope was held out that MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry would go all in on her and give her the harsh criticism and treatment she deserves.
Instead, MHP was perhaps even more gentle than Lauer, and later told colleague Chris Hayes that she sympathized with her and was genuinely intrigued by Dolezal. It seemed for all the world that Harris-Perry was buying the notion that a person can be “transracial” and she didn’t seem all that concerned with the lengths to which Dolezal kept up her charade, such as sending herself fake hate mail or passing some random old black dude as her dad. She also didn’t necessarily press her hard on the issues surrounding her lawsuit with Howard University over white discrimination or other false claims she’s made in the past.
Below is video of part one of the interview, courtesy of MSNBC:
While preview clips of the interview had been released prior to its airing Tuesday, it wasn’t until the whole thing aired that anger started to develop from the Twittersphere over MHP’s handling of Dolezal. The consensus opinion was that Harris-Perry not only gave Dolezal a pass, but provided her a platform to bask in the glow of her own narcissism and attempt to convince others that she is deserving of attention and empathy. Heck, Harris-Perry treated Dolezal as if the two were longtime pals as they spent more time talking about their hairstyles than Dolezal’s fraudulent actions.
Below are some of the more critical tweets sent MHP’s direction:
You really sat on TV with a white woman in black face like y’all were 2 old pals from college catching up. Girl… @MHarrisPerry
— Eastern Parkway (@Vivaciously_Val) June 17, 2015
@MHarrisPerry Black people don’t have option of choosing their race. Transracial is a euphemism for white privilege https://t.co/jXJJgt7Noe
— John Kane (@Tortured_Verse) June 17, 2015
So disappointed with @MHarrisPerry interview. Wasn’t journalism, was more girlfriend to girlfriend, let me make her feel good to be black.
— Janine Rouson (@jprouson) June 17, 2015
@MHarrisPerry As a black woman I am disappointed in you and the interview. You should be ashamed for approving deception and pure lies.
— Merceda Gooding (@MercedaGooding) June 17, 2015
Love @MHarrisPerry but feel betrayed by her #RachelDolezal interview. Not as a black man, but as a lover of journalism. Disappointed.
— Remi Adetiba (@remiadetiba) June 17, 2015
time to get @MHarrisPerry up outta here. seriously. she is really terrible these days.
— Psylocke (@StarboundNites) June 17, 2015
What up with your hair? Really @MHarrisPerry. #RachelDolezal. You made a choice and #journalism died today. @msnbc
— Salibury Pacific (@Salisburybuilt) June 17, 2015
I watched beginning to end AND #MelissaHarrisPerry gave #RachelDolezal that Megyn Kelly style interview.. girl bye https://t.co/C12HLLk1mi
— Nanya (@yvwllis1) June 17, 2015
Et tu @MHarrisPerry ? Running out of Black public intellectuals to lookup to…. #RachelDolezal
— ShitBLKAcademicsSay (@HollaAtASchola) June 17, 2015
@MHarrisPerry I hope every dime you got for selling your soul …was worth it
— The Dawn (@pendecadentdiva) June 17, 2015
Watching Melissa Harris Perry listen to this White woman talk about her Black hair. We breaking up.
— Sugar on My Grits (@blackgirlgeeky) June 17, 2015
@MHarrisPerry Disappointed that you couldn’t see the obvious intellectual rationalizations and incoherence in #RachelDolezal‘s language
— John Kane (@Tortured_Verse) June 17, 2015
It is going to take some doing for Harris-Perry to get back in the good graces of much of her core audience. Based on the reactions on Twitter and other social media, many of those who had looked up to her and felt she was a real journalist who wouldn’t back away from tough topics and issues are sorely disappointed in her now and may not give her another chance. It seems like she seriously underestimated how going the sympathetic route with Dolezal would be taken.
