Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE.
CNN’s Brian Stelter may not be getting the reaction he was hoping for after an excerpt from his upcoming book was shared online.
The host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” appeared to have stepped on a rake in the retelling of an encounter he had with Fox News host Sean Hannity. The excerpt from the book, “Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth,” was shared in a preview in Vanity Fair.
Stelter and Hannity have sparred in the past, taking their jabs at each other from the air to social media. The Fox News host has nicknamed Stelter “Humpty Dumpty” and Stelter noted that in a passage in his book.
“But I struggled to square Hannity’s reputation with the man I saw on TV and occasionally in person,” Stelter wrote, explaining how the two ended up attending the same party at a Manhattan restaurant in 2019.
“Hannity greeted me by putting both his hands on my shoulders and exclaiming: “Humpty!” the excerpt read.
Hannity allegedly told Stelter he did not feel “bad about the name-calling” before he removed his hands from his shoulders and “moved towards the bar.”
This is from Stelter’s book excerpt. Why would he print this? 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2umVbsch1P
— Watchdog (@LibWatchdog) August 20, 2020
Earlier this year, Hannity slammed Stelter in a series of tweets for his “incredible” arrogance and the fawning treatment of disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti.
“There’s a reason why crowds of thousands yell ‘CNN sucks.’ Because it DOES…,” Hannity tweeted in February.
“Now, that being said, I want to encourage you to keep doing exactly what you’re doing because it is a spectacular failure,” Hannity continued.”Don’t change a thing, Humpty. Keep going with your low ratings.”
Stelter obviously has an issue with Fox News and has even squared off against host Tucker Carlson. As seen from the Amazon description of his book, the CNN host believes “morally bankrupt” hosts “profit outrageously by promoting the President’s propaganda and radicalizing the American right.”
And Hannity is at the center of the problem:
At the center of the story lies Sean Hannity, a college dropout who, following the death of Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes, reigns supreme at the network that pays him $30 million a year. Stelter describes the raging tensions inside Fox between the Trump loyalists and the few remaining journalists.
The fact that Stelter chose to include the humiliating encounter with Hannity in his book puzzled many Twitter users who wondered how he could have thought it could get him some sympathy.
Did Stelter actually think he’d get pity out of this?
— PopeYeetimus (@PYeetimus) August 20, 2020
I thought his book was gonna totally suck, but it actually sounds hilarious! 😆
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) August 20, 2020
Some thought it was intended to show off that he was recognized by Hannity.
I guess he’s bragging about Sean Hannity knowing who he is ?
— Gay Russian Bot (@overitall69) August 20, 2020
I am confused to figure if humpty was going for sympathy or was bragging that Hannity recognized who he actually was. Either way, I bet Hannity is surprised that Stelter was giving him some props here. It makes Hannity look even better.
— Creamy Giblets (@CreamyGiblets) August 20, 2020
But, contrary to what Stelter was probably hoping to accomplish with the anecdote, many Twitter users just loved Hannity’s response.
Hannity was all of us in that moment… Moving away from Brian Stelter and toward the bar.
— Gary (@LentzGary) August 20, 2020
Lmaooooo I would never have guessed Hannity goes that hard in the paint. Legendary
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) August 20, 2020
Lol this makes Hannity look like a MF badass
— Stephanie ac (@stephanie_co23) August 20, 2020
Alpha vs Beta…. this is the typical circle of life in the world.
— Nobody (@TheRealDainjaRu) August 20, 2020
I think I’m in love with hannity now
— lori (@texaskeepitred) August 20, 2020
Is this true? @seanhannity if so! pic.twitter.com/Ub0S55lIYq
— PJWJake (@MJake1969) August 20, 2020
No doubt, Stelter may be second-guessing the decision to write about the encounter but, more than likely, it will prove to be more fodder for his self-pity wagon.
Pity party. Table for one.
— MorrisOcean1 (@morris_ocean1) August 20, 2020
Y u make fun of me waa 😭
— 👑Your Highness 👑 (@valeriegoldburt) August 20, 2020
This is hilarious😂😂🤣🤣
— Loyiso Sishuba (@Loyd_Shubza) August 21, 2020
I can’t stop rereading it! pic.twitter.com/scXO3p7rH9
— Demure Shark (@thedemureshark) August 20, 2020
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
- ‘Are we next?!’ Kilmeade breaks down shady FBI actions, concludes Trump justified in his outrage - August 30, 2022
- Grandfather throws down with aggressive kangaroo that attacked his dogs, but who really won? - June 4, 2022
- ‘My name is Dr. Robinson’: Proud abortionist snaps at Chip Roy calling her ‘Miss’ during hearing - May 19, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
