F’book Sheryl sandbags ABC
SHERYL Sandberg seems to be “leaning out” of her press push to hush the hysteria over Facebook privacy and user-data leaks.
After many significant days of silence, the Facebook COO was quizzed by “Today’s” Savannah Guthrie on Friday, followed by an interview with Fox News’ Dana Perino. Sandberg was next due for a sit-down on ABC’s Sunday show “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” as she and CEO MarkZuckerberg scramble to subdue the socialmedia scandal.
But, according to TV insiders, when “Lean In” author Sandberg learned she would be quizzed by trailblazing journalist Martha Raddatz, and not ABC News star Stephanopoulos, the Facebook doyenne demurred. AnABCinsider said, “Sheryl’s team were talking to producers at ‘This Week.’ After they were told the interview would be with Martha, not George, the discussions ended. Sheryl has a good relationship with George, but the decision not to proceed appeared to be based largely on that Sheryl wouldn’t be sitting with the biggest name on the show . . . not that she anticipated George would give her a sympathetic interview.”
No-nonsense Raddatz, who has reported from Iraq andthe WhiteHouseforABC, famously wasn’t lured by “Lean In,” saying at a 2014 forum that women should not feel pressure to “have it all.” Raddatz said, “I hate these terms, ‘have it all,’ ‘ban bossy,’ ‘lean in’ . . . Youall have your ownchallenges. Everyone deals with them differently ... If you decide you want a great career and to be a mother, you’re going to fail some days as a mom. . . You just are.” Of Sandberg’s quest to ban the word bossy, Raddatz added, “I don’t want to ban bossy. I want to embrace it.” And Raddatz’s advice for female success? “Don’t whine.”
Facebook didn’t comment, but asource at the firm said Sandberg’s team had decided to opt out of “This Week” because Zuckerberg testifies twice this week before Congress. “We love Martha Raddatz,” the Facebook source said. “But Sheryl did not back out of any interviews. We are not doing any TV over the weekend to allow for some breathing room ahead of Mark’s testimony next week.”