BET blasts writer over Obama
TALK about going Postal. The BET Network booted a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from its conference for publishing a Q&A with Michelle Obama, sparking a social media storm.
The network had invited the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan to its syntactically questionable “Leading Women Defined” conference in Bal Harbour, Fla., but then demanded she leave after she published her article, claiming that Obama’s talk had been conducted in a “sacred space.”
Givhan — the Washington Post’s fashion critic, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2006 — posted a piece Wednesday quoting Obama discussing her campaign experiences in 2008: “I couldn’t count on my husband’s cam- paign to protect me; I had to protect myself.” Despite her qualifications, Obama was dismayed at being asked if she could handle being first lady. “The garden was a subversive act,” she said. “You can’t go in with guns blazing until people trust you.” And just before welcoming Donald and Melania Trump to the White House, Obama said, she cried saying goodbye to the staff.
When BET brass saw the story, they kicked Givhan out and canceled a panel she was due to moderate. But while claiming Michelle’s talk was private, BET didn’t play by its own rules: The network posted sections of the interview on its Web site, while Valerie Jarrett, who conducted the chat, teased on social media that fans should “tune in to BET” to hear all that Obama really said. The incident spiraled into a social media screaming match, and Givhan was subjected to a barrage of abuse, with one tweeter saying she “violated a sacred trust between women, black women.” Writer Jamilah Lemieux posted, “This is a complete violation of journalistic ethics and Black girl code,” while other journalists defended Givhan. A BET rep insisted Givhan was “invited as a guest (not working press) to moderate a fashion panel,” and her travel and hotel were paid for by BET. “She was made aware that it was an intimate conversation in a sacred space of sisterhood and fellowship.” Givhan and Obama’s reps declined to comment.