Welcome Home

Introducing the inaugural episode of the Native Land Pod, co-hosted by Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, and Tiffany Cross. These three old friends are pleased to be teaming up to bring their decades of political experience and knowledge to bear— and have a little fun while they’re at it. Welcome home, y’all! 

This premiere episode features commentary on Former President Trump and Republican Candidate Nikki Haley’s recent statements about the civil war in the lead-up to the Iowa Caucus (Jan 15), actress Taraji P Henson’s impassioned comments about the ongoing wage-gap struggle and more; before a powerful story and acknowledgement of truth from host Angela Rye in the final segment.

We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast. 

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Watch full episodes of Native Land Pod here on Youtube.

Thank you to the Native Land Pod team: 

Angela Rye as host, executive producer and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Gabrielle Collins as executive producer; Loren Mychael and Jabari Davis are our research producers, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer, and Abu Zafar is our engineer. A special thanks as well to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with Reason Choice Media.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Welcome home, y'all, welcome.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is an inauguration of sorts because this is the
inaugural episode of Native Lamppod.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I am Angela Raie Hi everybody.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
I am Tiffany Cross, and I'm so thrilled to be
in conversation with y'all in a community with my sister
and brother.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
All Right, hellou everyone, this is Andrew Gill. I'm saying,
what's up. It's been a while. I'm so so so
glad to be back in conversation about relevant issues that
are going to get us free.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
So, I want you all to know I've missed you
on air. I'm not the only one looking at the
comments on our social media posts.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Folks are elated to see you back.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
I want you to know that your voices were ones
that I could count on and and I am so
glad that now I don't get to just listen to them.
I get to be in the business of strategizing with
you all every single week as we try to bring
people back home, and you bring them home and we're
welcoming them home.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
And so.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Before we kick this thing off. I have an oath
that I'd like for you all to take because it's
an inauguration.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
Okay, well a lawyer. I don't have a lawyer present.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Hands up, right, hands up after me.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
I do solemnly swear, I do solemnly really already swear.
I do solemnly swear.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute.

Speaker 5 (01:41):
The role that I will faith.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
The responsibility of.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Co hosts of Native Lampod, of co host the Native Lampod.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
And will to the best of my ability.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
And will, to the best of my ability preserve, preserve, protect.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Protect, and defend and defend the truth, the truth and
the safe space the culture deserves.

Speaker 4 (02:07):
And the same safe space culture.

Speaker 6 (02:09):
You know that.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
I put your hand back up.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Oh, I thought we were.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
I put that on my own, mama.

Speaker 4 (02:13):
I put that on my hood.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
I lookd fly you guys Victorian money.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Okay, they couldn't even get through the song. I put
that on my own, mama. Come on anyway, Welcome home, y'all.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
So it would not be us if we didn't just
jump right into all of the things political. And there
is a lot going on, so we have to jump in.
But I want to know why us, why now, why
would you sign up to do political podcasting right now?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
If I'll start with you, Andrew, I'll go to you next.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
Well, thank you Angela, and I first of all, I
want to say thank you for your words. Kicking us
off and right back at you says people have missed
hearing from you, and I want the listeners and audience
to know that for our our peer group, that Angela
was the first person out there to take up space
and truth telling in a public way across the cable

(03:17):
news spectrum. Because of your commentary and things you contributed
to UH that network, their ratings increased, their brand increased
in spaces where they weren't. And when I I've worked
in TV for over twenty years behind the scenes, but
when I transitioned to in front of the camera, Angela
was always my go to about you know, speaker fees,

(03:39):
about contracts, all that stuff. So thank you to you
for being a trailblazer in that space. And so when
you called with this vision of this podcast, it wasn't
even a question. I was honored to be included. Outside
of our professional work, we have a long close personal
friendship and so it was you know is this work

(04:02):
or is this me hanging out and having conversations that
we would normally be having. And then I would say,
because the cable news industry has so routinely and stubbornly
failed to speak to us, to value our voices, there's
like an unspoken rule. You can't be too truthful, you
can't be too real, you can't say too much. And

(04:24):
the cardinal rule is you can't make white folks too uncomfortable.
And so it's nice to have a space, a safe space,
as you talked about in the Oath, where we can
speak truthfully. And I think this is a podcast for everyone.
If you have intellectual curiosity about your fellow countrymen who

(04:45):
don't look like you, this is a place where you
can come and hear that. And if you are uncomfortable,
then that is a good thing, because that means you're growing.
So we welcome everybody here, and we welcome people who
have a familiarity with us. We welcome our fan with
us as well.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
It's real, Andrew, why you why now? Why this pod?

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Well? Uh, this isn't to be overly laudatory of you,
Angela the individual, because I could carry on about that,
but because I know. One of the premises of this show,
and one of the things that we want to be
able to communicate to those who join in this community
is that everybody's voice is valued. We all have a
role to play. And you don't have to be well known.

(05:28):
You don't have to be Humpty dumpty and fall from
the fall, you know, the tallest wall to have the
experience that matters. Whatever you're experiencing, you don't need validation
for it's it's real, it's you. And so, in the
spirit of influencing other people, Angela, this is a yes
for me because you walk the talk, and you talk

(05:50):
the walk. There are not a lot of people who
touch radioactivity knowingly, who dive, you know, headfirst into a
rescue me when you see injustice and unfairness. And I
think part of your invitation to me, I'll speak for me,
but I think Tiffany intimated this is that you, I

(06:12):
said on the campaign trail, nobody should be judged forever
by their worst day. What you're lifting up by our
examples of resilience overcoming and maybe some days is just
I'm just standing right. That's emotion in and of itself
is the truest story I think for the majority of
us in this country, the majority of us in our community,

(06:35):
the majority of the listeners that we will hopefully have
joined us on this podcast, and they deserve to hear themselves,
see themselves reflected and know that a phoenix does rise.
And so thank you for Alamia partner with you and
this brilliant woman next to me, Tiffany, to longtime friends
and colleagues and brilliant women in this work.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
I love that.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
Well, when we say welcome home, we're not just what
each other home, but listeners, we welcome you home too.
And again, it would not be us if we didn't
just jump in where we know best. I want to
start off, Andrew, is something that had you hot under
the collar Donald Trump. No surprises there, but basically he'dn't

(07:18):
done it now. And he had something to say on
the Civil War that you just weren't filling.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
Let's roll that clip.

Speaker 7 (07:27):
The Civil War was so fascinating, so horrible, so many
mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could
have been negotiated. To be honest with you, I think
you could have negotiated that all the people died, so
many people died.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
Andrew Well, I have to say, I think Donald Trump
up the ante and his vitriol, this time with black
people as the target and as the audience. The more
fascinating side of the the question is the whole of

(08:02):
the Republican Party, sixty percent of which seemed to be
in these early states, standing right lock and step with him.
I know that everybody thinks Donald Trump is disqualified from
office or holding it again because of all these indictments
and all that kind of stuff. But I got to
tell you, if there's a disqualifier, it's that we've already

(08:23):
experienced four years of that chaos. To me, that in
and of itself is disqualified. Norton, not that I ever
thought he was qualified, but this idea of renegotiating the
Civil War, we have to consider who he's talking about negotiating.
We're talking about people, human beings, human lives. I know

(08:46):
Nikki Haley has a different spin on that, and we'll
get to it. Yeah, but you can't in this day
and age, we really ought to all be up in
arms that Donald Trump would enter into the political fray.
He up the ante from Nicki's comments of just ignoring
slavery as a motivator for the Civil War and basically said,
we could have negotiated our way around saving more white

(09:09):
men and black men lives, slaves fought in the war,
former slaves, and slave fault in the war, so on
and so forth, to save people who look like him. Well,
I want to me, it just blows my mind.

Speaker 1 (09:23):
And Tiff, before you chime in on Donald Trump, sure
you got a lot to stay there. I don't know
if I agree with you on if he uped the
ante I'm black folks.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
But we'll do more on that later.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
I do want to roll the Nikki Haley sound bite
to see if you think there's that much light between
their positions.

Speaker 8 (09:39):
I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War
was basically how government was going to run the freedoms
and what people could and couldn't do. Thank you.

Speaker 4 (09:48):
And then in the year twenty twenty three, it's astonishing
to me that you answer that question without mentioning the
word slavery.

Speaker 3 (09:56):
What do you want me to say about slavery?

Speaker 1 (09:59):
If you mu.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Next question, he said, Nef said, yeah, So look, one,
I just want to say to the listeners who are
exhausted with hearing about Donald Trump like this, is not
a space where we will highlight this man every week
by any means. But when he says something truly egregious,
I do think he is the front runner of the
Republican Party and we have to talk about it, and
we have to address it. Closing your eyes pretending he's

(10:23):
not there is not going to make him go away.
He is there.

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (10:27):
Two, I would say to Andrew's point about Trump's comments
and Nikki Haley, they are talking to a specific set
of people. They're not speaking to us. So all of
this bullshit about they want to, you know, attract everybody
to the Republican Party. No they don't. They're speaking to racist,
conservative maga extremists, and we have to stop acting like, uh,

(10:48):
and Andrew, you said this that the Republican Party is
one and Donald Trump is another. This is the same people.
You know, Our good brother Michael Eric Dyson says this
Frankenstein was the doctor, not the monster. This is the
monster they created. But they are, by all means the doctor,
all their racism, their xenophobia, their misogyny. He is the

(11:08):
human embodiment of that. And so I'm never surprised. I'm
never clutching my pearls. What I'm disgusted at is when
I see this being consumed and discussed and parsed over
across the media, that we can't call a thing a
thing right, that these candidates are allowed to come on
and wax poetic about all of their bullshit issues that

(11:29):
they invent and they're never confronted with, But what about
your racist ass comments that you said yesterday? That's why
they go on these shows because they know it to
be an easy pathway. They will ever be confronted with it.
Everybody on the panel will pretend, you know that they're
not gonna talk about this, even their voters. I think
their voters have to start being confronted when you do these,

(11:50):
you know, voter panels and talk to people. I don't
know how you have that kind of panel. You don't ask, well,
how are you comfortable with some of the racist comments
that he's how are you comfortable with how he speaks
about your fellow countrymen? And so literally quoting Hitler, absolutely,
you know, everything about him is so un American and

(12:12):
the ideology that we have that the hope of what
we think this country could be, but it's also so
very American in the way that this country was founded.
So I'm disgusted by it. I'm unnerved by him continuing
to be the front runner. And until media, which I
do think has a very important role to play in democracy,
until they start assuming that role in a more responsible, inclusive,

(12:35):
aware way. I think they're helping to pave the way
to America's final.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
Season textbook enabling and one of the things too, we
throw in the Nikki Haley clip, we make it seem
or they have made it seem over time, like Donald
Trump was the anomaly. You referenced this Frankenstein analogy that
Harry Reid actually said. He said yet right, that Donald
Trump was the Republican Party spranket sign. You built it, monster,
Your dog whistles are now fog horns, Like, let's be

(13:03):
very clear about what it is. This same thing that
he's doing, doubling down on the Civil War paved the
way by state policy where they're challenging CRT. Now it's
DEI program. So we went from critical race theory to diversity,
equity and inclusion. And Donald Trump is like, oh, there's
an obsession with Civil War. Turns out the Confederate soldiers
were born again and showed up at the Capitol on

(13:26):
January sixth.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
No surprises here at all.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
So I'm curious to know about your new vitriol because
it's been vitriol.

Speaker 4 (13:33):
I'm not new to the game, and I'm not new
to the tactics of Donald Trump. I find it strange
the timing, yeah, of wading into this, and I don't
don't I don't think that Donald Trump and Nicki Haley's
comments are the same. Nicki Haley also, first of all,
she's a contradiction in walking because she's also the same
woman who took down the Confederate flag and removed the

(13:54):
Confederate statutes off the state's grounds in South Carolina. That's
what made many of us think that she was If
slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War the Confederacy,
then why was it so politically risky for her to
then remove those monuments. Welled, I know exactly what's changed.

(14:15):
But to make the difference between what Trump is saying,
I have not heard a Republican and mainstream certainly not
someone who has pursued the presidency say we should have
renegotiated that and a lot of lives could have been saved,
because when you talk about renegotiate that going back to
Nikkahley's quote, which was that, no, this was about the states'

(14:36):
rights to decide their own governing. No, a state's right
to do what, or another human being to own another
human being. How do you lose that FUNDAMENTALI that is
the issue, that is the thing, not said state's right
to own. So I get her saying that it wasn't
about slavery the commerce of the trade of humans and

(14:59):
more about a state's decision to trade humans or not
to trade humans. So not the trading of them, but
the decision of a state to trade human lies our
ancestors lies to Donald Trump, who said, well, maybe if
we could have carved up a few more states in
the expansion territories for slavery and then say this is it.

(15:19):
It cannot grow beyond these places. That's a negotiation that
one keeps our ancestors still enslaved and would have painted
a very few, very different future than the one that
we are enjoying today. He moved the marker from me,
and maybe it's a small nuance difference, but it matters
more than me, because I want to know what Republican

(15:43):
voters who are endorsing this are trying to communicate to
the rest of us. And I refuse to believe as
a person who ran in a majority white state, overwhelmingly
white state for governor, where we had unprecedented turnout and
I earned four million votes and my opponent earned four
million plus folks, and we were point four percent difference
between each other, and a race to elect a black

(16:05):
man governor of the state of Florida, in addition to
being a good public service on and so forth. How
can that same place so fully now embrace this man
and the only justification we give for embracing him is
that racism. I think we have to I think we
have to be more curious about what is the subtext.
How can you vote for me one day and then

(16:25):
the next day you say you're voting for Trump and
we then conclude that it's just a full endorsement of racism.
I think that's easy work, and I think we have
to do the hard work here.

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Speaking of racism, we also saw terrorism at play, not
just on January sixth, which of course we're just on
the other side of that anniversary, but also at Mother
EMMANUELAMI Church in Charleston, South Carolina, of course, Joe Biden
this week delivered a speech at Mother Emmanuel and recognized
the massacre of the em Manual nine. We'll hear this

(17:04):
because he also referenced the Civil War.

Speaker 8 (17:08):
After the Civil War, the defeated Confederates couldn't accept the
verdict of the war they had lost, so they say
they embraced what's known as the Lost Cause, a self
serving lie that the Civil War is not about slavery
but about states rights. They've called that the Noble Cause.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
Now, tiff I wanted that clip to roll, especially because
Andrew was making this distinction between what Nicki Haley said
what Donald Trump said. It sounds like Joe Biden went
right to the heart of what Nicki Haley said while
standing on the ground where she used to once where
she was once governor.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
So what do you think about what Joe Biden said?

Speaker 3 (17:55):
I think President Biden sometimes it's in ourticulate in the
points that he's trying to make. Again, listen, I am
not a Democratic talking head. As you know, I am
not loyal to any Democratic party. I think Joe Biden
is a flawed man, a flawed president. When I cast

(18:19):
a ballot for him, it is not because of my
blind faith in this man. I think there are very
legitimate criticisms about him, but if I have to choose
between him and Donald Trump, I am going to vote
for harm reduction. I would rather Joe Biden be in
this position than I would Donald Trump. I think, you know,

(18:39):
this is someone who has his first round. He made
it a talking point that he could work with Republicans,
that he could unite the country, and I think even
then we knew just as we know now. I don't
know how to meet a biggot halfway. I don't know
how to work with racist, and I don't want my
leaders trying to figure out how to work with Rae

(19:00):
because that means at some point I am going to
get sacrificed or something that is of interest to my
community will get sacrificed. So look, I don't know if
that was the best, most targeted message by any means.
I think this administration has needed some messaging help, for sure.

(19:21):
And we can't be afraid he's of a different generation,
but we can't be afraid to say, did y'all hear
that wild shit the Nikki Haley just said? And j
y'all here at wildshit? The Donald Trump just said, maybe
let me hear this, may me talking, but throw some
Jesus on it and clean it up.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
But say it.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
But just to point out, like you don't have to
be polite. Yeah, you know, we don't want somebody who
can negotiate. We want somebody who can fight. We want
somebody who was going to stand up for us. And honestly,
I don't know if Joe Biden is that person, but
he's the person we got. And if you understand how
politics work and how this two party system work, that's
your choice. Donald Trump is the front runner, Joe Biden

(19:57):
is the incumbent and the leader of the Democratic Party.
That is tr way you have when you go vote.
To abstain is not helping. To abstain is to It's
a choice.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
That is a vote.

Speaker 3 (20:07):
Exactly to not vote is a vote. So I'm disappointed
in the messaging.

Speaker 2 (20:14):
Andrew before you before you chime in here.

Speaker 1 (20:16):
I think that part of the conundrum that Tiff is
addressing in her response has to do with what happened
also in this speech, there was a protest that erupted,
and I want us to roll that clip.

Speaker 8 (20:31):
Well, the truth, there's no light without light there's no
path from this darkness.

Speaker 6 (20:38):
You really, that's all right? Thank you?

Speaker 8 (20:53):
What's that? I understand their passion, and I've been quietly working,
I mean quietly working with the Israeli government to get
them to reduce and significantly get out from gossip.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
So in between where he responded to the congregation who
began some of them who began chanting former years, there's
this divide, right, some of it.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Some folks could argue by.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
Age, some folks could argue by political philosophy. But folks
are like harm reduction all day. Other folks are like,
who is my next option? Because this can be life?
And there are folks who feel somewhere stuck in the middle.
And you know, like we talk about all the time,
there's nuance in all of that. What do you say
to Andrew?

Speaker 4 (21:41):
I think we should everyday dream about the system that
when we are free and freer we would like to
create that allows for more options. And what is a
dichotomous process? Right now? You get pretty much two choices.
I mean, you had a billionaire and parole running, right.
I mean, if there are people who Bloomberg did the

(22:03):
same thing, that's not the cut through this system. Is
deeply entrenched. But while we are dreaming our best dream
and building the system that we believe we deserve, we
cannot unilaterally disarmed from the one that we have. It
has consequences, It prevents us from doing the other things.

(22:23):
So for me, I know some people like to think
of folks who say it's an election, you got to vote,
and it's just we're middle grounds, we're softies. No, I'm
a realist. I'm raising three children, three black children, daughter
and two sons. And what I know for sure is
that the actions that they make up here and in
duc and elsewhere have consequences for our lives now but

(22:44):
also their futures. So every damn day of the week,
I'm voting my household, every day of the week. And
when I'm voting, I'm not going in because I'm loyal
Biden and the Democrats, or I hate Trump and thinks
he's a racist. I'm going to vote my entry. And
I would argue most voters when they choose to show up,
because only half of us going are voting their interest.

(23:07):
And just close the point in what I was saying before.
And I need to be more curious about this Republican
Party on this other side, and what they're saying is
it's got to be something greater than I hate black
folks or don't like them or don't want see them rise.
That I think is motivating this because it doesn't explain
how you can vote one way this year, one way

(23:29):
the next year, and they're in complete contradiction of not
only visually what you get, but also value wise what
you get. I can't wait for us to through Nativeland
further interrogate this question and just pull back the layer,
because if we don't, y'all, we still have an electoral college,
which means the majority of us are still going to

(23:50):
be disempowered unless we can figure out a way to
turn those folks on.

Speaker 2 (23:54):
I think that's exactly right.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
And speaking of turning folks on, the Iowa caucuses are
upon us well, at least on some those who vote Republican.
The Democratic Party finally did the right thing last year
by reverse the order and saying, Iowa, you actually are
not going to be first black folks who secured this
nomination for Joe Biden in twenty twenty will be first.
So South Carolina obviously now pre amps Iowa and New Hampshire,

(24:18):
but for the Republican Party. They're not just selecting delegates,
they're selecting a candidate. I think we all know where
it's likely going to go, but I don't know if
you all have anything you really want.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
To say there.

Speaker 3 (24:30):
I would just say that, no, die to my fellow
countrymen in Iowa New Hampshire. But these are two states
that are I think ninety three and ninety four percent white, respectively,
and fried buttersticks and mayonnaise carvings and all the other
things that they do at these Look, and that's what

(24:52):
you're right, But if that's what you want to do,
and do that. But I also think, well, look, but sure,
but I would say no, it was like I like
my sauce, but spare me. Yeah, Like fried mayonnaise.

Speaker 2 (25:06):
Is the the devil.

Speaker 3 (25:08):
Yeah, But I would say what has been happening has
not worked. And I think the one thing that I
can say about Donald Trump is in twenty sixteen, he
ripped up the political playbook. So when I see campaigns
operating like it's pre twenty sixteen, I do wonder, like, well,

(25:30):
what fuck needs to happen for you to learn? You know,
like that ain't the game anymore? You know, like you
you trying to score a touchdown and we shoot in
baskets like it is a completely different conversation. So I
think the infrastructure of the country and how these things
go has to change, everything from campaign finance laws, to

(25:52):
the primary process, to the two party system, all of it.
And so I can understand why people feel a bit
disenfranchised and apathetic towards the process. And honestly, I think
that's one of the things we'll discuss here every week
because I am trying to reimagine democracy as well. And
we imagine it as a blank slate and we make
ourselves the architects of it, then what does democracy look

(26:14):
like to us? And that's the challenge that I would
put to our listeners, like this is what has happened,
ain't working right?

Speaker 4 (26:22):
That's real. All I say is I don't really care
about what happens to the proposing prime but I do
because I know that the consequences are great. After largely,
although Democrats won't know the results on Tuesday, out of Iowa,
they are voting, They're getting ballots. It's just one hundred
percent of them are voting through the mail and their
vote will be pronounced announced after we get a more

(26:47):
diverse state into the caucus process. So you know that
is what it is. All I'm saying is people start
dropping out of this race pretty quickly. Hillary was told
by her campaign manager after New Hampshire that night that
she needed to drop out. That we were bankrupt after
New Hampshire. Could you imagine to says in right, So
it matters, y'all because this process is being decided right

(27:10):
under our noses, and it's going to be another six
or seven months before we even wake up to the
fact that there's an election coming.

Speaker 1 (27:17):
Well, that is our POV on politics and that political news.
That matters a whole lot right now. But stick around because,
as it turns out, politics are everywhere else. I say
often that politics touches you, whether or not you touch it,
and there's no place to see politics more at play

(27:39):
than on our purses, our pockets, and our pay The
word the world started paying attention recently to something our
girl Taraji said and talks about on the regular, and
this feels like an appropriate moment to quote Miss Celi
who said, until you do right by.

Speaker 4 (27:58):
Me, everything you touch.

Speaker 1 (28:00):
Taraji is saying, mister, it's actually this entire ass industry,
and so right now, let's take a listening to what
Taraji said.

Speaker 5 (28:09):
I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at
what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
It seems every.

Speaker 5 (28:19):
Time I do something and I break another glass ceiling.
When it's time to renegotiate, I'm at the bottom again,
like I never did what I.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
Just did, and I'm just tired. I'm tired.

Speaker 5 (28:29):
And if I can't fight for them coming up behind me,
then what the fuck am I doing?

Speaker 4 (28:33):
I'm sorry, Yeah, don't apologize.

Speaker 5 (28:37):
Twenty plus years in the game, and I see what
you do for another production, and when it's time for
us to go to back, you don't have any money.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
Enough is enough? Enough is enough?

Speaker 1 (28:48):
That number of heads that were nodding in this room
just on that point her pain right, and you hear it,
She's like through tears, And I do want to get
into this, but first I want to pull a Lady
Oh's response, because Taraji took the same criticism right to
this set of Color Purple, defending some of her cast mates,

(29:08):
and I want, I want us to respond to what
Oprah said.

Speaker 9 (29:11):
I heard I was trending yesterday because people are saying
that I was not supporting Taraji. Taraji will tell you
herself whenever I heard there was an issue where there
was a problem, there was a problem with the cars,
or there's a problem with the food, I would step
in and do whatever I could to make it right.
There's no validity to there being a thing between Taraji

(29:32):
and I.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
Okay, So before we even get to Danielle Brooks's part,
why does it take a billion narrative to have to
weigh in to say she shouldn't have to drive a
rental car? She needs a car service after her hard
work and after the emotional commitment it takes to play
a role. Why do they have to check on food
about trailers?

Speaker 4 (29:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (29:51):
Why let me first say, I want to thank Taraji
for her testimony. Yeah, because she does not stand alone.
And when she spoke, she was not on speaking for
her sisters and her industry, but for all of us.
Because who among us in this room and who among
us at home listening can say that we have been
paid what we're worth by a corporation? Very few people.
And look, this was Warner Brothers production. You know, this

(30:14):
wasn't Oprah. So it was interesting to me that the
immediate attacks went to Oprah. It's like another part of
the plan, Like no, look at the leadership of Warner
Brothers and take that smoke to them. I also want
to say about Taraji. When you're the first to speak out,
you are often punished. Yeah, And so it takes courage
to speak your truth because if you don't, people will

(30:38):
think they're alone on the island that is just them.
And I so understand her tears and the pain in
her voice. I think all of us in this room
have experienced that. I've been highly disrespected on the pay
scal highly disrespected where I've made or garnered more ratings

(30:59):
than your favor white boy at the network and he
was making millions. Well, my sister, who's still you know,
on set, tell them, speaking of honest truth, grossly underpaid
than her colleagues. And there is some attitude that we
should be grateful, we should be grateful for the crumbs
they give us while we sit across from you and
watch you eat a steak, watch you enjoy a meal.

(31:20):
And I just think, if enough of us speak out,
if enough of us have the righteous anger to say
fuck that and we walk, if enough of us can
rally our collective talents and build something for ourselves. They
can't blackball everybody, they can't fire everybody. So I just
want to use my time to offer nothing but gratitude
to Taraji. She spoke for her, She spoke for you,

(31:42):
and she most certainly spoke for me.

Speaker 4 (31:45):
It's powerful. And what I think I understood about her
tears were that in some ways she's resigned that her
status and her fight has been what it has been,
and it's going to be what it's going to be.
I heard fully the future and what she that pain,
you know, the exhaustion, the humiliation was palpable. But that's

(32:12):
the kind of that's that's the kind of connection you
make when you are talking about and talking for the
ages and not for the moment. And what I love
is that her selflessness continues. What I know about Tajipanson
is that I was a I are working on a grant,
was able to hand out mental health scholarships that she

(32:34):
funded because she knows what a toll mental health, waking up, breeding,
just showing up at work, the strain, the pain that
that is for a black woman. And so she added
to that the LGBTQ community, the Black lgbt Q youth
community is your survival requires regular, ongoing maintenance of your head.

(32:59):
If you'll want to draw breath today, that's huge for
some people. It's a luxury to talk about her salary.
It's a luxury. She's talking about the fact that she
has been surviving for a very long time. When does
thriving happen for her?

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Right right?

Speaker 1 (33:18):
And the fact that she looked at when is thriving
happened for her if and only if her sisters are
thriving too. And this is what Danielle Brooks had to
say about Taragi's advocacy.

Speaker 10 (33:29):
I remember when we first came in and we were
doing rehearsal and they put us all in the same space,
like we didn't have our own dressing rooms at the time,
and they did not give us. Sorry miss who we
didn't have no food?

Speaker 6 (33:42):
Had she heard about it?

Speaker 4 (33:47):
Oh?

Speaker 10 (33:47):
Yeah, and you corrected it.

Speaker 2 (33:51):
And I was like, miss oh, we got to fix this.
And she said, say less and wasn't not. And that's
what I appreciated, though you were. I love that and
part of the reason.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
It devastates me. You said you love it. I hate it.
Everybody doesn't get an Oprah to work with in their
movie productions. What a what a sentinel moment for those
actors actresses that had that opportunity. And we shouldn't have
to have a built in advocate who's paying for the
goddamn thing in order to be given appropriate accommodation's food

(34:26):
after a hard day's work, in the middle of a
hard day's work, coffee and coke for a refresh if
you want so, even now, And I hope Oprah, and
I hope Taji, and I hope all of us who
are having this conversation are responsible enough to know that
we are now talking about systems and now, how Oprah performed, now,
how Taraji performed, now any one individual actor was grateful

(34:47):
for anybody's intervention. We have to change the way that
shit works, period, all free with that off jump, I agree,
I know what they're doing, but I.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
Just and that's not the part that I loved.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
What I loved is that even as I sit here
across from you all, I know that I could count
on you to do the same thing. I love that
in our friendship and our family, right, that is the
expectation and the norm, not the exception. I love that
when we are on the road to thriving, because we

(35:20):
should already be there given all the debt that our
ancestors paye to this country.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Of course we should be there.

Speaker 1 (35:25):
But on the road to get there, I have people
I can count on to fight for justice and equitable pay,
equitable accommodation's food. I know that I could count on
you all for that, and I want that for all
of our people. So I love that they have that
on such and I mean it's a classic in our community.

Speaker 2 (35:43):
There's no other place.

Speaker 3 (35:44):
Look at what they're going through.

Speaker 1 (35:45):
They're literally living out the messages of slavery in that film.
Right If no other place there should be equitable treatment sisterhood.

Speaker 3 (35:52):
Right, Well, can I just say really quickly, one, I
want to testify that Angela has been that person not
just for me, not just you, but for so many people.
You make the difficult ask. You know, it's not like
you know, hey, I want to picture with somebody like
that's easy, but it's the difficult ass that you will

(36:14):
always make that call. I just wanted to take this
moment to shout out joy Read who has been that
person for me so many times, and also Tamern who
was that person for joy Like, whatever space you hold,
it is your responsibility to hold that space not just

(36:35):
for you, but for us all. And if you're what
what what what do you gain when you get to
a level if you are not advocating for the community
as a whole, if you're not disrupting a space to
make space for other people. And so if we can
do that again, they can't blackball us all.

Speaker 1 (36:56):
I love that you shouted out some folks tip and
I know this wasn't part of it, but Drew, who's
one of those people for you?

Speaker 4 (37:01):
Well, in addition to you, no, well, I'm uncomfortable, then
sit in and discover my wife has been that jay
for me. And there are a few others that I

(37:25):
would name check, but I'm not going to. What I
will say instead is that what I love about those
people who have been that for me is that they
know that their advocacy, maybe today on my behalf might
be incidental to me, but those examples has to exist
so that we can create a system that then knows
what it looks like to do this the right way.

(37:46):
The reason why we celebrate Oprah Taraji that example you
as example, the testimony that you gave to two mentors
of yours, is that right now we have to we
have to give folks a model because they don't see
us as fully human. And which is how you can
throw a feeding trough to professional trained actors with years
of experience and expect them to be grateful that they

(38:08):
have the opportunity rather than celebrated for their gifts. We know,
I think intuitively and otherwise that if we aren't changing
systems that then operate without our presence, without our physically
being there to advocate, then it was a good come

(38:29):
up for you. And I'm sure you'll be a mentor
to a few other people, and you will be that
set example for others, and I may be for some others,
but that's still exceptionalism. And what we want is a
rule change, base level inalienable. I was born, I breathe today.
I get this not because you like me or don't
like me, but because it's my birthright.

Speaker 2 (38:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
I want to shout out to people TIF thanks for
setting that standard. Jamel Hill, who's done that like to
a personal cost. Yeah, thank you, Jay, and also Geraldine
Marie but who I call coach forever in the day,
was at CNN first and now was at the Grioh.

(39:13):
We have a really special segment that we're going to
do every week inviting people into talk with us, to
pull up a seat at the table. The people have spoken,
They even put we haven't even submitted the graphic yet
to ask them for questions, but they put them in
our comments.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
They were ready, y'all.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
So some of them have asked in our commitment to
you all at Native Lampod is that you will always
have a seat. And this week we pulled a couple
of questions because we didn't have a lot of time.

Speaker 2 (39:41):
We knew we were gonna have a lot to catch
up on. Well, but it's good. It's good, it's good.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
And so what we're gonna ask you to do going
forward is to DM your videos to us at Native
Lampod on ig, Twitter and Facebook. But this time we
just put them in here. So the first question TIFs
and your you're so surprised.

Speaker 2 (40:00):
I'll have you answer. Are you all a nineties R
and B group?

Speaker 3 (40:05):
Oh listen, if you don't want to be messing with
the producers all in the video dancing in the camera,
come to death throat aka Native Lampod. Yeah, I know,
we're not a nineties R and B group, but we
bring some of that flavor. Yes, so stay tuned because
every every week, every week, I feel like we are

(40:29):
like the podcast group Chat. Yes, there's every week we
It's like there's an intellectual pocket of folks out there
who can debate Middle East politics, who can talk about
global diplomacy, and who can also have an intense conversation
about who's the better lyricist jay z nas.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
Or me you thank you?

Speaker 1 (40:49):
And there's not even a top three now, yeah.

Speaker 3 (40:53):
So I those are folks we talked to. So we're
not an R and B group, but we can certainly
have an intellectual discourse about like who was the best
R and B group of the nineties.

Speaker 1 (41:00):
Give me the next question slightly more serious, actually a
lot more serious.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Andrew would come to you first, do young people?

Speaker 1 (41:08):
And anytime it start right there, I'm like, don't be
preaching to the young folks, But anyway, do young people
understand the implications of not voting since many are vowing
to not vote for Biden and Harris because of the
administration's policy on the Israel Hamas war.

Speaker 3 (41:24):
Oh, let's talk about that.

Speaker 4 (41:27):
Do we say the same thing about women who may
vote only on choice issues, or conservatives who vote only on.

Speaker 1 (41:39):
You know, but their times are young people who are
not voting.

Speaker 4 (41:43):
A country ain't voting. I just think it's so crazy.
It's like, black folks, women, what are we doing to
win this election for Biden next cycle? You have self
selected a small group of people who happen to be
a voter who is going in and voting. Their interests
largely harm reduction, but the interests, and now you've made
them like we gonna win this a we're gonna lose

(42:06):
this way or without you. And I hate that we
do that young voters, because it's not fair. Half the
country is not voting. Let's talk to half the country.
Why have you chosen to stay out of the process
that pretty much decides everything you get to do and
moreover what you don't get to do. Yeah, right, why'd
you make that? Why are you making that choice? And
I'll just say to the Biden folks and whomever else,

(42:29):
it is not going to be enough to tell people
what they are to be afraid of. To win an election,
you are going to also have to give me a
reason to vote for you. So some seeds of inspiration aspiration.
Taraji ain't the only one who's tired of just surviving.

(42:50):
Voters period want to survive. And I mean from poorest
folks who may not know where they're sleeping tonight, to
those who get up and work all kinds of hours
a day, you know, and what they take home is
not a reflection of how hard they work. Yeah, that's true, right,
So stop blaming folks for that. It's the system that
we have designed and created. And so I would love
to hear some of what I talked about with us

(43:13):
this morning, casually was around the stimulus. What happened during COVID.
They seemed to see Americans as real people with real
needs that had to be met as we were going
through this once in a life, once in several generation crisis,
and it seemed like the government didn't want anybody to
fall through the cracks. So what they do. They made

(43:33):
all lunches free for all kids. They started rebating and
giving parents actually close to what it costs for a
month of childcare versus a fraction of the cost for childcare.
So I just I want the government, I want the
candidates the parties to see us treat me like i'mbo
at the table. Well, not quite, because he's not getting

(43:54):
the defender he deserves for a system that is corruptly
going after him. That's another topic another day. But treat
me like you care about how I live and how
I eat tonight and how I keep a roof over
my head. You mean hunter, hunter, not you're right, but
the point. But either way right, he loves it. There's

(44:16):
no doubt he loves and cares of all of his children.
I'm simply making the point. Put me at the table,
not me us, put us at the table. And I
know the President has this kind of empathy, but it
must be reflected in the fierce, unapologetic advocacy that's required
to move Washington because those policies all went away because
two Democratic senators, Senator Cinema and Manchin, said we're not

(44:40):
extending any of that anymore.

Speaker 6 (44:42):
Now.

Speaker 4 (44:42):
They went hand over fists for corporate America tax breaks again,
extending those right, but they couldn't put up a fight
for two years of seeing too Americans essential basic needs.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
This tipping point is unique for young voters, and I've
honestly been surprised to fit some of the ways in
which I've seen them galvanize around this particular issue dealing
with Israel and Palestine.

Speaker 2 (45:08):
What do you say to the folks who are like, well, what.

Speaker 1 (45:09):
Do you tell them to make them vote? Or do
they understand the severity of them not voting.

Speaker 3 (45:13):
Well, I want to say right now, there is no
evidence based thinking that they're not going to vote. When
you look at the data from the last few elections,
millennials over indexed, and I anticipate that gen zers who
are just coming into the process will likely show up,
So we don't have any proof at this point. I do, however,

(45:37):
understand this rejection of somebody peeing in your face and
telling you it's rainy. I think again, if everybody speaks out,
you can't blackball everybody. And I think it is hard
to look at what is happening in Gaza and not
demand a cease fire immediately. We have seen the bombing

(46:00):
of hospitals numerous times. We have seen the bombing of
shelters numerous times. I do think this is a nuanced
political point. I do think that President Biden is I
believe that he is trying to work with net and
Yahoo to calm the IDF. I fear what an unchecked

(46:23):
IDF would be doing in Gaza right now. Whatever he's
doing is not enough. When it comes to over five
thousand children dead, is not enough. The only righteous answer
is a ceasefire, even if you take away the very
complicated history of Israel. And I understand there are members
of the Jewish community who feel very strongly about this.

(46:46):
There are members of the Jewish community who feel very
strongly that there needs to be a ceasefire. I think
this again, you have to abandon the pre twenty sixteen playbook.
Right now, people have access to information from all across
the globe. We are witnessing a superpower take out a minority.
Who better understands that than black folks, especially black folks

(47:09):
in America. I think they are losing that messaging war.
I think they are losing the humanity of what's happening there.
And I think when history judges all the people who
have come out, and can you imagine being a Palestinian
and seeing signs everywhere saying we stand with Israel, when

(47:32):
your family has just been bombed, when your house has
been destroyed. It is heartbreaking to see. And I think
the only other thing that's probably more disheartening is to
acknowledge the humanity of the Palestinian people results in a
barrage of comments about being anti Semitic or very powerful

(47:52):
wealthy people trying to ostracize you. Silence you take you
from your post position arrogantly demand because I stood with
Black Lives Matter that I feel abandoned now. I would
ask what exactly did you do to stand with Black
Lives Matter? Putting a Black Lives Matter sign in your

(48:13):
window and wearing a T shirt is not standing with
Black Lives Matter, And clearly you misunderstood the assignment and
the message. Because we are not transactional advocates. We stand
on the side of truth and righteousness and goodness, and
what we're seeing happening in Gadza is anything but. So
to the young people who feel frustrated by that and
disheartened by that, you are not alone. We stand with you.

(48:34):
And to the people who are begging folks in America
to see their humanity, we see your humanity and we
stand with you as well.

Speaker 2 (48:41):
Thank you, Tiff.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
We remember to dm us your videos every week at
Native lampod on ig, Twitter, and Facebook. We are taking
your questions. You always have a seat here because we
welcome you home. No nudes please, oh yes, the spirit
port please fully addressed in your questions.

Speaker 2 (48:59):
We do not want to see it.

Speaker 1 (49:01):
You don't have to be censored in your home, but
you're censored in this home.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
Yes, welcome home, fully closed.

Speaker 1 (49:06):
Up next, I am sharing what has been asked of
me often for the last three years. I've finally found
the courage to tell my truth about what really happened
at CNN.

Speaker 2 (49:17):
And that's after the break.

Speaker 1 (49:22):
Every week we'll be sounding off on something that matters.
Our first three episodes, we will provide updates on what
happened since you last saw us. I'm up first, and
my story is one that I never thought i'd tell
and sits at the intersection, frankly, of power and harassment.
So you all know that I was a commentator on

(49:44):
air and CNN for six years and people have consistently
asked me over the last three what really happened? There
was so much that I loved Andrew. As you know,
we developed a squad and had some really amazing segments.
Some folks were like, where's Tiffany? Were like at MSNBC,
maybe one day she'll be a CNN with us.

Speaker 2 (50:03):
And there was a lot that was also really hard.

Speaker 1 (50:04):
There were a number of segments that we were in
that felt like Mortal Kombat, and I would be emotionally
exhausted and sometimes devastated after those segments.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
But the questions nonetheless have been why did I leave,
that I get fired? Why did I disappear?

Speaker 1 (50:19):
And I think that I was in denial really that
my seeming disappearance was as impactful as it was, And
I wrestled with why and how for a really long time.
In order for me to get to this moment, to
tell this truth and my story I have suppressed for
three years, I really had to extract my identity from
the network that provided me the platform that helped to

(50:41):
deepen me into my authenticity, particularly when I felt punished
for doing the same. I was reprimanded for taking conversations
that were on air onto Twitter like many others, for
sounding angry when my debate opponent challenged my credentials when
they didn't have half of them. That isn't really what
closed the door. I got a call on January twenty first,

(51:04):
twenty twenty one, and I was told by the executive
who oversaw contributors that my contract would not be renewed
that CNN right after January sixth, a historic election where
we got our first ever black VP.

Speaker 2 (51:16):
Who was a woman, and my friend would.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
Be focusing more on COVID coverage and less on politics.
I knew it was a lie, and it was confirmed
when two black women were hired for half my current
contributor rate right after Over and over again, I ran
through scenarios in my mind, and I kept trying to
deny to erase one of the most embarrassing, humiliating experiences
I had. I've never publicly shared this, but it is

(51:41):
my truth and it is the time. So just ten
days prior to receiving that call, on January twenty first,
the darling of the network and one of the most
influential hosts during Jeff Zucker's tenure, was texting me about
a segment idea he had for his primetime show. Chris
Cuomo was suddenly excited about a prominent regular role for

(52:02):
me where I would check the left. Truthfully, I had
my doubts on the genuine nature of this idea. Our
on air conversations and chemistry became something viewers looked forward to,
but Cuomo came up with this particular segment idea after
a text exchange that went woefully wrong.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
I need this.

Speaker 1 (52:20):
I thought a network exec had already told me they
didn't see me as a host, despite my hosting a
very successful podcast and hosting award winning news specials on BET.
This was my chance to prove them wrong. Can't I
just ignore this indiscretion. It all began on New Year's Day,
when I posted a picture of myself looking forward to
the new year in a gold sequin bikini on Instagram.

(52:42):
Womo screenshot the image and said Happy New Year. Tensel
Crotch stunned. I read and reread the message a dozen times,
trying to understand if I somehow brought this on myself.
Since whatever you post on social spare game, right. I
teared up, Like now, then the tears flowed. I felt

(53:04):
like the safest place I had on a show on
CNN had been compromised. I ignored it, just hoping it would
go away or even more, did I imagine this? But
I didn't a few hours later, he said hello. I
didn't respond for two more days, despite his plea the
next day to call because he wanted to discuss work.

(53:24):
I tried to punt until after the Georgia runoffs, asking
a week later if he still wanted to discuss his
work idea, despite him mentioning Tensil bikini and tensel bottom
along the way. As I think about this, it feels
so fucking small compared to what other women in the
workplace experience.

Speaker 2 (53:40):
But I was afraid to speak up.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
Between New Year's and my follow up, an insurrection happened
on Capitol Hill, where I feared I would lose loved ones.
I felt like if I called him out, I was
risking everything I was finally starting to build with the network,
and as someone who is known for being courageous that
I cannot begin to tell you how much I.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
Felt like Reaven now feel like a coward.

Speaker 1 (54:03):
In ten short days, I felt like what was a
clear ride to the promised land turned into quicksand even
upon receiving the call about my contract not being renewed,
I was talking to another network about a big opportunity
and feared I would lose that work and most importantly,
the ability to reach the audiences I love in such
a critical time if I spoke up. I went over

(54:25):
this timeline over and over again, obsessing about whether I
was making it a bigger deal. Chris, you texted me
from a new number last year, asking if I'm mad
at you. I was, but I was really mad at myself.
I was mad at myself for not saying anything sooner
because I was lacking courage and preferring my financial well
being over my mental health, not standing up for women

(54:47):
who are often left powerless in these situations. I was
mad at myself for not addressing this sooner. I was
mad at myself for protecting your image with the black
women I know who loved you and look forward to
hearing your voice. I know I'm not the only one,
and truthfully, I'm mad about that too, that everyone has
given you a pass for fear of what it might
mean to hold you accountable for clearly inappropriate behavior and

(55:11):
overstepping I was mad at myself for shrinking in the
face of power when people depend on me to stand
up to speak up. This was harder for me because
we were legitimately cool, We had a great rapport, and
I was worried about damaging a friendship and a working
relationship that you actually damaged. I tried to redirect you repeatedly,

(55:34):
and you abuse the.

Speaker 2 (55:35):
Grace so you did not deserve. So I apologize.

Speaker 1 (55:39):
I apologize for not leaning into what I know is
my mission and shrinking in the face of power, for
not doing more. I apologize to every woman who needed
a voice and I was silent. I apologized for waiting
in the wings for opportunity that never came. Well, I
sacrificed sixth grade wounded angela who desperately needed a protector

(56:00):
in the face of bullies. I apologize for knowing how
to be creageous, courageous, but not acting on it.

Speaker 2 (56:08):
I apologize to the people who.

Speaker 1 (56:09):
Experienced this in newsrooms, halls of Congress, the c suite,
support staff roles, in college lecture halls.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
I see you, and I want you to know you're
not alone.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
And I apologize to me for minimizing the impact this
had on me, for wallowing and shame and should have
could as when I just wasn't ready to acknowledge or
speak on what it is. So no, Chris, I won't
be a guest on your program now or later. Thank
you for the platform. It was not worth all of

(56:40):
the mental and emotional turmoil, And I thank God that
I'm clear about the fact that you can't take away
a voice you never created, you or the network executives
who enabled you. I know that I'm forever changed, not
just by this, by what, by the journey it took
me to get here, to be able to speak out,
and for you all to hold this space.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
I am so grateful. Thank you.

Speaker 3 (57:05):
Wow, I am grateful to you because I know that
was a difficult experience for you to share, and so
you said a lot in that. So I just want
to make sure that our viewers understood that when Chris
sent Angela that response. Obviously I've known about this, but
when Chris sa Angela that response, he was referencing the

(57:27):
bikini and your crotch. And some people may hear that
and think not a big deal. I have to tell you,
as being on the receiving end of those types of
inappropriate messages, you do panic and you have a choice
of how to handle it. It's like, do I play
Pollyanna and play it off like I didn't understand. Do

(57:48):
I ignore this? Do I tell my spouse, partner, husband, boyfriend,
friend group, do I tell somebody at the network? Do
I confront him? I will say, Angela, we've all experienced
something like that, as you know from civil rights leaders,
to members of Congress, to people we know, and my

(58:13):
go to response has always been to either say something
to the person directly or ignore it, to play Pollyanna.
I've never once, well that's not true. One time I
did go to HR, but for the most part, I
didn't go to As many times as it happened, I
never went to HR. I never made a complaint, and
I thought I was standing in the truth, especially we

(58:33):
talk about Chris Cuomo, but when it comes to black men,
it's a whole added layer to that because now I
feel like I'm turning you over to a system that
already punishes you, and you are punishing me, and I
am left alone in that space. Somebody told me. My
very good friend Elsa said this to me, and I'll
never forget it. And she wasn't being judgmental, she was

(58:56):
just telling me, not everyone has your constitution. Yeah, you
know what you did by confronting this individual, You shame
them in the moment, but left them in place to
do this to other people. So I think you have
to give yourself grace, which sounds like you are, and
you did in getting to your truth and being comfortable
enough to share this and two, by sharing this, you

(59:18):
are telling every other person who may have experienced this
or more from Chris or others, that your discomfort, your pain,
you're being silenced, all of that matters, and that you
stand with them. So, just as a woman who has
experienced that, I just want to say thank you, and

(59:38):
I want to say to the news media industry from
CNN and everywhere else. So much of what drives these
newsrooms is left in the hands of unchecked white man power.
It is not giving a way power to have a

(01:00:00):
more inclusive platform, is not giving a way power to
have more inclusive executives in the boardroom. You're actually saving
your bottom line. Maybe you'd save yourself a couple million
dollars in lawsuits and complaints and litigation and employment law.
And also just try not to be a piece of
shit and do the right thing. You know that shouldn't

(01:00:23):
be a heavy lift. We managed to do it all
the time. So I just am in gratitude, and I
think CNN should be in gratitude for the audiences that
you brought to their platform that they didn't give a
shit about because they centered a different demographic, but you
introduced an entire new demographic to political minutia, and you

(01:00:45):
made it relatable and interesting and always plays the path
for others. And I say shame on them for trying
to find watered down fried Mannai's versions of you to
do such things that made audiences more comfortable, because what
happened instead is when you left, a lot of youers
left with you, and they're still in an identity crisis.

(01:01:06):
So thank you for not just this story, but for
what you did in your time in the spotlight.

Speaker 4 (01:01:12):
I didn't know this, and I've known angel a long
time and we were colleagues. She brought me into CNN.
We talked about our graciousness before. I'm only calling it
out because let that be the example, folks, that you
extend to hand out and up this hers badly because

(01:01:38):
I love Angela, but I'm also raising a daughter and
it really terrifies me for the stupid But stupid's too
trivial a word. Responsible, the disrespectful, the life altering things

(01:02:10):
that we men can do too often, because you all
can give testimony probably after testimony of it that completely
alters the life of the woman. Because we couldn't demonstrate
just a little bit of humanistic respect for a colleague.
I had a young woman who worked in the office

(01:02:31):
of the mayor who shining star, harassed by a boss,
would not let me intervene, would not let the city,
would not report it, picked up her life, moved to
a whole nother city, and started the search for a
new job. She would have been head of a division
by now, all because the man who's in charge, who

(01:02:56):
she didn't certainly feel in her power to say no
because she thought so, it ten fifteen years shot ahead
of her. And if I say something this, my life
change forever. Right. So, I know you've been working through this,
and I guess the short version of it is, you

(01:03:16):
didn't deserve your bikini shot. Is your joy, is your business,
it ain't nobody else's business, and it absolutely is not
an invitation for someone to disrespect you. You and I
both know, Chris, and the reason why you were you
mentioned hurt, was because you were friends and that relationship

(01:03:40):
you didn't want to have to release, and that relationship
was able to get that way with you a little
because you knew him to be a good guy and
a person who respected you. And the truth is is
that two things can be true at once. I know
that's true for me, it's true for you if we
were all to have it in this moment, and your

(01:04:00):
testimony to me is a level up for all of
us in listening ear that we have to check ourselves,
be aware, and it don't have to be that hard.
It really doesn't. But I thank you for your testimony,
and I just pray with you that grace continues to
abound because you didn't do a thing to invite or

(01:04:27):
to deserve sexualize disrespect.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:04:34):
Can I have a question? You were talking about your
exit from CNN. What is the correlation. Do you think
this had something to do with your EGEA that it
was ten days apart?

Speaker 4 (01:04:48):
Yeah, but I also want to say, you need evidence,
you need an email, you don't need the back channel change,
you don't need anything.

Speaker 1 (01:04:56):
Well, he was brutally cold when I told him that
they didn't re I'm.

Speaker 4 (01:05:01):
Not interested for I'm telling you right now because this
is part of the revictimizing that we do when we
call on the victim to tell us, well do are
you now going further to suggest that because of that thing,
then this thing happened? Because if A did, then C

(01:05:22):
result from EMPTYB. And I'm telling you that ain't your
job to piece that together.

Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
Yeah, but I think that part of what I was
saying is I was like, look, I would go back
and look at these text as it is in the timeline,
over and over again, trying to make sense of it.
So I don't know whether it happened or not, but
that is certainly what I believe.

Speaker 2 (01:05:43):
Now it's ten days apart.

Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
The darling of the network, the person who, when he
was released, blew that thing up. Everybody knows about Jeff
and Allison because he blew that thing up. Right, at
least those are the optics. So if you have that
much influence to tear that bitch down, you leave. Certainly
my little contract.

Speaker 3 (01:06:03):
Can I ask again, and I'm not trying to revictimized by.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
Any means I'm not taking.

Speaker 3 (01:06:08):
Did you outside of that incident, did you feel respected
by the network?

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
I think that that's yes and no.

Speaker 1 (01:06:16):
I think every time there was a moment that went
viral that wasn't planned, because my moment I had that
was viral was planned, they would send thank you congratulations.

Speaker 2 (01:06:26):
There were moments of racism.

Speaker 1 (01:06:27):
On air where producers apologized for some of the things
that happened I think largely yes, more often than not.

Speaker 2 (01:06:36):
Yes, but there were certainly issues along the way.

Speaker 1 (01:06:39):
Yeah, And I told you, And I was like, I
started seeing my attitude.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
What I didn't really realize.

Speaker 1 (01:06:44):
Is the attitude was a guard and a bracing for
when I had to be on air with him, Like,
what is he gonna say now that I'm on here?

Speaker 2 (01:06:51):
Are you going to send me another message?

Speaker 1 (01:06:52):
Even the fair game point that I mentioned, he actually
said that me posting that picture meant it was fair
game because I told him to leave my keeny out
of it. It's like fair game, chump.

Speaker 3 (01:07:04):
So look, I think this is a good lesson for
you know, our listeners out there. In your mind, it
might be a joke. In your mind, it might be harmless.
In your mind, it might be fair game. It is not.
It is not. You know, think about how we received
those comments. In most cases, we are not as physically

(01:07:25):
strong as a man, you know, So there's already a
power dynamic. You are a host at this network. Angela
is a contributor. He was like this with Jeff Sucker.
They were super close. Angela. You're not calling Jeff Zucker like, hey,
you want to get lunch in the Hamptons this weekend.
That wasn't your relationship. So the power dynamic is off,
and what that does to us. I just don't think

(01:07:47):
people always realize that, and so I hope this testimony
is a lesson to people. Even if you disagree, you
gotta paint whatever. Take it as a lesson, you know,
decide to the side of caution when thinking. There's a
civil rights leader who used to call me and say,
I just want to talk to the twins, referring to
my breast. No, and he I think he always thought

(01:08:10):
it was a joke, and I would honestly laugh it off.
I was like, okay, you stupid, Okay, anyway, and move on.
Because I did not want to have a dynamic with
him that would lead to something else, you know, so
I would always try to operate above board. I never
cursed him out or went off on him or anything

(01:08:31):
like that. And we work you know very well who
it is y'all used to work together. But that's a
story for another day. You maybe maybe I'll tell this story. Yes, well,
but look, and that's another thing. Each week we will
tell our stories. I certainly have a lot of stories
to tell about the network. You'll hear my story next week.

(01:08:55):
But I guess why I'm asking those questions too, is
because I want people to know how we're treated by
these places and the fights that we fight to show
up and hold the line for our not just for
the craft. I mean, you know, journalism has been something
that's been iant important to my life, but for the community,
or the democracy, for the country, for the globe, for

(01:09:17):
our humanity, all those things matter. And so while Angela
was doing that, to be subjected to that and whatever
other disrespect you experienced there, I think as an outsider,
I did feel like you were disrespected by the network.
I felt like you did a lot for the network
and never really got the praise. And you have to
prove yourself so much like y'all will pluck any has

(01:09:41):
been who gives a shit Republican and give them a show,
or you'll take somebody who is not, you know, in
media or not on the serious side of media. But
it's like, oh, I can take a black person who
is an entertainer and give them a show, but somebody
who who is articulate, a law school graduate, former executive

(01:10:04):
director of the Congressional Black Caucus, business owner, all of
those things can be intimidating to people somehow. You have
to prove yourself. The dude who can, you know, make
a killer jump shot, ain't got approve himself. But the
person who is intellectually I think, very capable of discussing

(01:10:26):
most things and driving conversation has to prove yourself to
earn a spot there. So I could go on about
this for a long time. You know, I have a
lot of thoughts on how the media is run. But
I know we're getting into probably our eight.

Speaker 4 (01:10:38):
Week, so I know we are. Yeah, give us, give
us grace. What I It's a serious topic. I am
struggling all the bouncing between my ears about this what
we invite and then what becomes fair game. And I
hope that I'm gonna share a little bit of this
too during my testimony about that whole idea. I used

(01:11:01):
this analogy earlier. You decide you want to go to
a club because you want to hear music or whatever
your motivation want to be, and you look in great
right stunner, and someone at that club decides that they're
going to slip your drink a quelude or whatever it
is that causes them to knock you out. And then
take advantage of you. Is it then the choice that

(01:11:23):
you made? Is it your fault? Is it now fair
game that whatever happened after that drink is your responsibility
because you put yourself in the situation that isn't the
situation you put yourself in front of. You put yourself
in front of advancement off of proven deliverable work, your

(01:11:45):
work product. You didn't invite anything else, and on your
Instagram you can do whatever the hell you want to do.
Just why some people know to DM you because they
know that if it were for public eyes, it would
not be appropriate. If you have the discernment enough to
know that you can't go in that timeline and write

(01:12:06):
that m hm.

Speaker 3 (01:12:07):
That's a good point.

Speaker 4 (01:12:08):
Then you know the difference between what's appropriate and what
is not appropriate. So invitation isn't an invitation until I
extend it to you.

Speaker 3 (01:12:19):
That's a good point. Because he didn't make that comment
on Instagram publicly, it was on text.

Speaker 4 (01:12:24):
Yeah, and again but that's we know. We are running
these traps in our head.

Speaker 2 (01:12:28):
Yeah, if you run that trap, run one more.

Speaker 4 (01:12:33):
Do you respect that person as a colleague or do
you acknowledge that they are a colleague? And possibly your
actions can deteriorate, destroy cause monumental shifts in the lives
of the other person. Now most of us aren't that
selfless to do that, but we I think we owe
ourselves in our listeners a real more fulsome conversation on
these boundaries and what we invite. Yeah, because a lot

(01:12:55):
of us got it twisted that if you put it
in the public space, it's fair game. Whatever that is,
I can take it to the most humiliating, disgusting extremes
because you wore a bathing suit that everybody wears.

Speaker 2 (01:13:09):
Well, this was heavy.

Speaker 1 (01:13:12):
I appreciate you all for creating the space and holding space.
But we did promise our listeners that every week we
can't help. But when we get together, it's not just
a talk show. We also have a call to action.
So if you had to give the listeners of Native
Lamp Pod one thing to go off and do when

(01:13:34):
they turn this off, not until the benediction, but when
they turn it off, what would it be?

Speaker 4 (01:13:42):
Post and recruit five of your friends, arride with five,
ride with five and subscribe. Download Oh you got bars
like the Native Lamb podcast, Because I honestly believe going
religious you were chosen for such a time as this

(01:14:02):
to do the work that we are going to do,
because if we don't do it, that work will never
be done. We weren't brought through it, to it and
through it to sit on the miracle of it. Somebody
on the listening side has to know that if I
take a courageous step, there's life after Yeah, share it,
arrive a five, y'all download.

Speaker 3 (01:14:25):
I like that mine is a little bit. I kind
of talked about this a little earlier. I would say,
after you post, follow and do all the things with
Native Landpod, get the fuck off your phones, Okay, be present.
Stop scrolling through Instagram for hours looking at nonsense. Stop
talking at brunch about celebrity gossip. Stop talking stop. If

(01:14:48):
you're doing that, at least spend as much time talking
about shit that matters. It's a consequential time. If you
sitting around, like Kat William said, what and they broke
up with who and who did this? That's fine. We
do that in our group chat too sometimes. I mean
we're going to talk about you know, pop culture for sure.
If that's the bulk of your conversation, take a look
at what's happening around you, not just here in America,

(01:15:10):
but across the globe, give a shit about something other
than filters. You know, have some curiosity about what is
happening in your community. Read an article from a reputable outlet,
read a book that is edifying to you. And I
don't mean to sound judg mental again, you guys, I

(01:15:31):
get on the shits too, you know, like, I'm here
for some of it, but it cannot dominate my life.
And the next time you're out with your friends at
brunch and I look at all these tables and everybody's
looking down at their phones. Nobody's looking at each other.
Just stay off your phones, connect with the people around
You're doing something interesting looking at what everybody else is doing.
So just put that aside. I think these smartphones have
ruined so much about society, Like, just get off and

(01:15:54):
be present.

Speaker 1 (01:15:55):
Tip said, get a flip phone. Mine mine is.

Speaker 2 (01:16:01):
To please not.

Speaker 1 (01:16:03):
They challenge us regularly not to parent talking points, which
we do not do. That criticism gets really old. But
I would actually challenge y'all to do the same. Please
do not parrot talking points. The thing that you read
that maybe went viral, that you thought sounds real dope.
Challenge that thing stress stress test that, even if it's
from us, fact check that thing right, Like, really do

(01:16:25):
your own research and really decide what is the truth
for you. I think that's so important in this day
and age. Before we sign off, I want to remind
y'all to subscribe to Native lampod right now and check
us out on YouTube. New episodes drop every single Thursday.
You can follow us on social media. We are Angela Raie,

(01:16:47):
Tiffany Cross, and Andrew Gillumed.

Speaker 4 (01:16:50):
The social media app on my phone today.

Speaker 1 (01:16:52):
Amazing, there are two hundred and ninety eight days until
election day.

Speaker 2 (01:16:57):
Welcome home, y'all, Welcome home.

Speaker 1 (01:17:03):
Native Lampod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with
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