Uprising erupts at CNN against MAGA commentator Scott Jennings: report
An uprising against MAGA pundit Scott Jennings is underway behind the scenes at CNN, according to a report Friday.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson was apparently trying to "calm nerves inside the network during an all-hands meeting" on Wednesday after he was pressed on questions over why Jennings was not held to the same editorial standards as the rest of the staff, Status reported.
He has had several public spats on-air with fellow commentators, including a Jan. 19 clash with Cameron Kasky, a fellow panelist and Parkland High School shooting survivor. Kasky called Jennings out for using the term "illegal aliens," which goes against the network's editorial standards, according to Status.
Jennings responded to Kasky's comments during the back and forth.
“Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t say? I’ve never met you, brother. I can say whatever I want,” Jennings said. “They’re illegal aliens. And that’s what the law calls them. Illegal aliens. That’s what I’m going to call them.”
Thompson reportedly told the staff members that contributors are not held to the same editorial standards as the network's journalists.
Frequent CNN analyst Julie Roginsky this month unloaded on the network for allowing Jennings to be rude to his opponents while engaging in bad-faith arguments during his appearances. She noted his abusive treatment of women without penalty has given rise to a belief among some outside female analysts that they have been blackballed for criticizing him.
On her Substack, Roginsky wrote that she likely will be “banned from CNN’s airwaves” for going public and making her case against Jennings, whom she called an “insecure little boy.”
She argued that it's not Jennings' political ties that are the problem — but instead his conduct.
“The problem is how he behaves, what he contributes, and what his presence signals about what CNN now tolerates,” Roginsky wrote.