MSNBC is in apology mode again, but it may take a mea culpa from the big boss to stop an all-out Republican boycott of appearances on the network.
The head of the GOP penned a letter to MSNBC President Phil Griffin telling him he is banning RNC personnel from any of the cable network's shows until Griffin "personally and publicly" apologizes for the channel's latest misstep. Earlier this week, MSNBC's official Twitter account sought to politicize a Cheerios commercial featuring a biracial family that debuted months ago and is slated to air during the Super Bowl.
"Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww: the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family."
The Tweet prompted an angry tide of reaction from conservatives, many of whom noted their own families spanned races, either through marriage or adoption. Most wondered why the left-wing news network thought it was such a big deal.
Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin went on Twitter and urged her followers to send photos of their own biracial families to MSNBC’s Twitter feed with the hashtag “#MyRightWingBiracialFamily.”
The network quickly apologized for the Tweet, taking it down and posting two subsequent Tweets regarding it.
The second Twitter missive announced the offensive tweet had been deleted and included another apology.
MSNBC wrote of a “backlash” against the commercial in June of last year, using random comments posted under a YouTube video to make the case that conservatives were angry about it. In the article, Christopher Colbert, the African-American father of the 6-year-old Grace, who stars in the ad, said he welcomed any national debate spurred by his daughter’s role.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said the misguided Tweet is part of a "pattern of behavior" that has "poisoned" the network.
"Sadly, such petty and demeaning attacks have become a pattern at your network," Priebus wrote in a Jan. 30 letter to Griffin. "With increasing frequency, many of your hosts have personally denigrated and demeaned Americans -- especially conservative and Republican Americans -- without even attempting to further meaningful political dialogue.
"Until you personally and publicly apologize for this behavior, I have banned all RNC staff from appearing on. associating with, or booking any RNC surrogates on MSNBC," Priebus added.
The latest flap arose just weeks after MSNBC personality Melissa Harris-Perry apologized on air for leading a panel discussion that mocked former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for having an adopted black grandson.
In November, then-MSNBC host Martin Bashir created a racial controversy when he blasted one-time Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for comparing the effect of the ballooning national debt on Americans to slavery. Bashir described a vile punishment for slaves and suggested someone perform the act on Palin. Bashir was suspended more than two weeks later, and resigned on Dec. 4, 2013.
Days before Bashir’s outrageous gaffe, actor Alec Baldwin, host of a short-lived night-time talk show on MSNBC, was canned after being caught on camera using a gay slur.
Griffin said his network’s policy is to own up to its mistakes, and said the incidents for which it has apologized don’t “define” the network.
"We quickly took responsibility for them and took action,” Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter. “They were unfortunate, but I'm not going to allow these specific moments of lack of judgment to define us."
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