TMZ’s reporting on the Sunday death of Marion Barry generated backlash from critics who deemed it insensitive to the former Washington, D.C., mayor.
“Marion Barry crack mayor dead at 78,” the headline said. Barry is infamous for having been caught on tape smoking crack cocaine in 1990. He became known thereafter for his “bitch set me up” comment when he realized he was being busted.
A Change.org petition was started to have TMZ remove and apologize for the headline. “We want his legacy to be honored the right way. Show respect to his family, friends and supporters,” the petition says.
MSNBC’s Joy Ann Reid called it “crass” and “tacky.” Marc Lamont Hill of CNN and the Huffington Post seemed to suggest a racial element was at play, saying, “something tells me that @tmz won’t write ‘Philandering President passes’ when Bill Clinton dies one day.” (Barry is black, Clinton is white.)
Reid and Hill, however, must not have consulted the history of their own news outlets.
Last November, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes hosted a segment on his show related to former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, accompanied by a graphic that said “Crack in the case.” Another segment by Hayes posted online was called, “Cracked: Toronto City Council versus Rob Ford.”
Likewise, a graphic on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show in January dubbed Ford the “crack mayor.”
A story on Ford from November by the Huffington Post was headlined, “Crack-Smoking Mayor Rob Ford More Popular Than Obama, Congress.”
TMZ itself has repeatedly referred to Ford as the “crack mayor.”
Do Reid and Hill object to their respective employers characterizing Ford — also once a popular elected official — entirely as a drug addict? Why are they defending Barry, whose reputation in D.C., despite being continually reelected to office, was long ago marred by corruption and drug use?
Hill did not reply to an emailed request for comment. The Washington Examiner attempted to reach Reid by Twitter but she also did not respond.
TMZ’s public relations department also did not return request for comment.
