“The Talk” under investigation, President Joe Biden speaks on Cuomo scandal, and more in The Daily Rundown.
Executives have temporarily pulled the plug on production of CBS daytime TV show The Talk after a heated exchange between co-hosts Sherly Underwood and Sharon Osbourne about racism made headlines last week, Variety reports.
The conversation ignited between the two panelists after Osbourne defended Piers Morgan’s comments about Meghan Markle. “Did I like everything he said? Did I agree with what he said? No,” Osbourne said. “Because it’s his opinion. It’s not my opinion… I support him for his freedom of speech, and he’s my friend.”
“What would you say to people who may feel that while you’re standing by your friend, it appears you gave validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist, even if you don’t agree? Am I saying it right?” Underwood replied.
Osbourne has since apologized. Currently, production has been suspended for Monday and Tuesday pending the outcome of the investigation. Production sources say that filming is expected to resume Wednesday, but the executives will determine how they should move forward from there.
N.C. Elementary School Apologizes For Displaying 4th Graders’ Proslavery Tweets
It’s amazing that some educators have not yet realized that lesson plans about slavery are not the time to incorporate role play. The latest blunder comes from the Waxhaw Elementary School in North Carolina, which proudly displayed the handwritten “tweets” of 4th graders who argued for the continuance of slavery in the school’s hallway, The Washington Post reports.
“You may not agree with slavery but I do and I’m honest about it. #SlaveryforLife,” read one tweet. “Why do we need to leave the country? We can stay and our slaves! #SLAVERYFOREVER.”
The lesson plan in question asked students to compose tweets North Carolina residents may have written during the Civil War Era. Naturally, the tweets fueled outrage from members of the community, which prompted school officials to release a statement condemning the assignment.
“Today I was made aware of an elementary school assignment about the Civil War that was racially insensitive and not appropriate,” the Union County Public Schools Superintendent Andrew G. Houlihan expressed in a statement. “I want to be clear: any type of assignment such as this is unacceptable. We are taking this matter very seriously and will ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Biden Encourages Public To Wait For Results Of Cuomo Sexual Misconduct Investigation
As more public officials, including New York Senator Chuck Schumer call for the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, President Joe Biden has encouraged the public to sit tight and wait for the results of the investigation.
“I think the investigation is underway, and we should see what it brings us,” Biden told a group of reports Sunday, according to The Grio.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James is at the helm of the investigation, which was triggered after several women accused the governor of sexual misconduct.
