CNN fired news anchor Rick Sanchez on Friday, a day after he called Jon Stewart a bigot in a radio show interview where he also questioned whether Jews should be considered a minority.I think we all know why Sanchez was really fired here, and it has nothing to do with the comments about Stewart, and maybe only a little bit to do with his comments about Jews not being oppressed.
Stewart had frequently poked fun of Sanchez on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." "He's upset that someone of my ilk is almost at his level," Sanchez said during a satellite radio interview with Pete Dominick. Details of the interview were posted on the Mediaite website Friday and quickly became a topic of conversation in the media world.
Sanchez said that Stewart is bigoted toward "everybody else that's not like him." He said Stewart "can't relate to what I grew up with," saying his family had been poor and he had seen prejudice directed at his father.
Sanchez dismisses it when Dominick points out that Stewart, who is Jewish, is also a minority. "I'm telling you that everyone who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority?" Sanchez said, adding a sarcastic "yeah."
"I can't see someone not getting a job these days because they're Jewish," he said.
During the interview with Dominick, Sanchez told about a CNN executive whom he would not name telling him that he saw Sanchez not as an anchor but a reporter like ABC's John Quinones. He implied that this was a subtle form of bias.
Nope, this dummy got canned for committing the ultimate Corporate Negro (or in his case, Vato) Sin. He talked sh*t about the guys signing his checks.
Something Sanchez said that got somewhat obscured by all the anti-Semitism is that he often felt like a 2nd class citizen, and that he saw bias play out against minorities and women in ways that the "majority" wouldn't acknowledge.
There's probably more than a bit of truth in that statement, and I'm sure many of us who've watched a "double standard" dynamic play out in our workplaces can agree.
But again, that's not exactly the sort of stuff you're supposed to air out on a national radio show. That's the kinda sh*t you talk greasy about over lunch in the company of other folks who can relate. Sanchez, who's always struck me as a few footlongs shy of a Quiznos, apparently never learned this lesson. He'll have plenty of time (and less money) on his hands to think about this.
There's really no other explanation for getting canned this quickly, on a Friday for that matter. The "Stewart's a bigot" comments alone would likely have just drawn a call from Corporate. The "Jews aren't oppressed" line itself might have gotten him a few days of LWOP and a mandatory on-air apology. But poppin' sh*t about the guys who pay you? Well, that's an instant "Go home before we call security, we'll mail your last check and all your office belongings to you by the 15th!" errytime.
Next time (assuming there is one), just shut up while you're ahead, Rick.
Question: Why did Rick Sanchez really get canned? Is it possible to get caught talking bad about your employer and remain employed? Got any notable stories about beef with your boss?
CNN's Sanchez fired after calling Stewart a bigot [AP]
