Culture & Society

Social media sacks two CNN reporters who deleted ‘insensitive tweets: ‘Y’all know the rules’

May 30, 2021 | | Print Article

Social media users mocked a pair of CNN staffers on Saturday after both of them took to Twitter to announce they have deleted posts from several years ago they decided were inappropriate given today’s cultural norms and standards.

“I’ve deleted two insensitive tweets from 2011 when I was an ignorant college kid. I’ve learned a lot in the past ten years, and I can assure you those tweets do not reflect my values today. My sincere apologies,” Tyler Mauldin, a meteorologist for the network, tweeted last week.

The following day, politics reporter Lauren Dezenski wrote: “I’ve deleted two tweets from more than a decade ago when I was in high school. One propagated a racial stereotype. The other was stupid and tasteless. Neither in any way reflect my feelings or maturity today. I regret them and I am sorry.”

Neither staffer elaborated on their past comments, but many social media users suggested that by today’s ‘cancel culture’ rationale, they should not be forgiven and should pay some sort of price.

“Doesn’t matter. You know the rules. @cnn needs to fire you,” one user wrote.

“Just two? What about the others? I guess you haven’t found them yet,” PR specialist Arthur Schwartz added in response to Dezenski.

One user posted a screengrab of a tweet allegedly from Dezenski, from 2009 that said, “spotted: jewish kid with a Goofy yamica.” The user tagged CNN and added, “This is literally violence.”

It’s not clear if Dezenski actually sent the 11-year-old tweet, but Schwartz tweeted a screengrab as well.

“Yikes! CNN politics reporter seems to have a problem with Asian people and Jewish kids,” he wrote.

Others chimed in as well, noting that CNN, among other liberal network hosts and personalities, have often called for people to be ‘canceled’ over remarks they have made, no matter how long ago they were made.

One user posted screen grabs of tweets allegedly from Mauldin, dated 2011, in which he used a homophobic hashtag.

The apologies come amid swirling controversy at CNN involving one of the network’s top hosts, Chris Cuomo, who was criticized by his bosses for providing legal counsel to his New York Democratic governor brother, Andrew Cuomo, who has been accused by several women of sexual harassment.

Chris Cuomo was called out by network colleague Jake Tapper in an interview with a New York Times podcast for participating in strategy sessions involving his brother, which is considered unethical because Andrew Cuomo is a public figure and the accusations against him are newsworthy.

“I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate … and he said, Chris, in his apology that he delivered on-air, said that he put us in a bad spot, and I would also agree with that,” Tapper told the Times’ Kara Swisher.

“And then, just as a last point, I would say that I work very hard to be fair and to be ethical and to not cross lines,” he added.

CNN has said it will not punish Cuomo.

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Jon Dougherty
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