The View’s Sunny Hostin is no fan of Simon Ateba, but she is defending the reporter after Ateba drew criticism for disrupting a White House event featuring the stars of Ted Lasso this week.
According to Mediate, Hostin added that while Ateba may be a “horrible person,” he deserves to be treated equally as a reporter for Fox News, which she characterized as “infotainment.”
“But in my view, and he reports on relations between Africa and the United States, it is a global economy. He hasn’t been called on, apparently, in seven months. If you’re going to call on Doocy from Fox News, which is just infotainment, then you should call him on him as well,” added Hostin.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg said one of the reasons why Simon Ateba is often ignored during briefings might be because he has a history of being combative. She added that it’s unclear whether he’s simply a troll or if he has a valid point about being ignored. While it’s true that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre doesn’t have control over who attends briefings, she does have the power to choose who she calls on.
Sarah Haines observed a clear display of sexism in the interview she watched. The interviewer began to make inappropriate comments about the subject’s personal life, such as “she doesn’t have to marry me or have babies with me,” which had no relevance to the topic at hand – mental health. Haines criticized the interviewer for filibustering through the press conference and not treating the professional woman with the respect she deserved.”
According to Simon Ateba, his situation is comparable to that of Jim Acosta from CNN, who was known for his confrontational exchanges with members of the Trump administration, including former President Donald Trump, who regularly attacked the media by labeling them as “the enemy of the people.”
