There’s been countless think pieces and articles about the fallout from “cancel culture,” but the truth remains the same. Most of these “canceled” folks are quickly forgiven and reinstated mere months after their initial scandal. Take Jeffrey Toobin, author and CNN’s legal analyst who caused a stir in October for appearing nude and masturbating during a Zoom call with co-workers at The New Yorker.
At the time, Toobin said “I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends and co-workers,” adding, “I believed I was not visible on Zoom. I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video.” Toobin stepped away from both high-profile gigs for roughly 8 months, before CNN let him back into the studio.
CNN’s re-hiring of Toobin is back in the news after the company fired three employees for going into the office without being vaccinated. Network President Jeff Zucker sent around a staff memo where he wrote, “In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming to the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated. Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this.”
“I think it is fair to say that we are all feeling a mix of anticipation, anxiety, frustration, confusion, and exasperation … I get it,” Zucker says. He adds: “Continue to take care of yourselves and each other. And I will share more updates just as soon as we have them.”
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 5, 2021
CNN employees don’t currently have to provide proof of vaccination, although that policy is being revisited. Of course, employers are free to make vaccinations mandatory, with companies like United Airlines, Tyson Foods, and Disney implementing these protocols. Still, many are rankled by CNN’s decision to fire these employees while keeping a known sex pest employed.
Unfortunately, many of these people are right-wing Trump supporters who only care about sexual misconduct when Democrats do it. For them, the issue of individual rights and “liberties” supersedes the very real threat that unvaccinated folks hold for everyone else. They don’t care about these fired employees, and are only concerned with their anti-science and anti-vaccine agenda. But broken clocks, am I right?
Many took to Twitter to question the network’s decision:
This + rehabbing Jeffrey Toobin is making me incredibly curious about the work culture for women at @CNN https://t.co/Tzz7GbMMVf
— Fiddler (@cFidd) August 3, 2021
Don’t get me wrong, I’m pro-vaccine, but wish that CNN could find a reason to part ways with Chris Cuomo and Jeffrey Toobin as well… https://t.co/3o3LSD2V1I
— Lynn Howie (@LynnHowie1) August 6, 2021
@CNN Get rid of Jeffrey Toobin!!!Giving him a stage validates his repulsive behavior- he doesn’t get a do-over! GONE!🤮
— 😷jamesbudday🆘(She/her)BLM 🌈 (@jamesbudday) August 3, 2021
Saw “Jeffrey Toobin” was trending. Turned out it’s just right wing hacks angry that CNN fired unvaccinated staffers but not Toobin.
They should’ve fired Toobin. Firing unvaccinated employees is also appropriate (given no exception applies). Both create huge liability.
— Joshua Stein, philosophy, ethics, politics (@thephilosotroll) August 6, 2021
(via HuffPost, image: screencap)
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