Former ESPN host Jemele Hill says she has no regrets about any of her political statements on social media.
In a recent interview with Essence, Hill said that she was taken by surprise that her Twitter post calling President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” rankled people so much.
“I have thought about that so many times because I wasn’t the first person to say it,” Hill said. “There is factual evidence to support what I said, so I was very surprised by the reaction.”
The host went on to insist that the only reason she was “targeted by the White House” is because she works at ESPN. Hill says this without any apparent trace of irony, despite the fact that she began the feud with Trump when she called him a white supremacist. Maybe Hill was targeted by the White House because she called him a racist? Does Hill think the White House wouldn’t have targeted her if she called him a racist and worked fro NBC?
Only a few weeks after she was lambasted for calling Trump a white supremacist, Hill broke the company’s social media policy again by urging fans to boycott the Dallas Cowboys because she doesn’t like owner Jerry Jones’ politics.
For that second violation in as many weeks, ESPN bosses suspended Hill for two weeks. But, despite knowingly breaking her company’s rules, Hill says she has no regrets.
“While I don’t believe in regrets, I believe there is an opportunity to learn from every situation, even if it’s a painful one,” Hill told Essence. “My suspension was certainly awkward at times. I remember the first day walking into a restaurant and seeing myself on both Fox News and CNN. I’m used to being seen on ESPN, but to have people outside of the sports bubble talking about me as a walking think piece was weird. As is the case when you experience something difficult, you have to cling to those who love and support you the most.”
Ultimately, Hill says that the opposition she has faced for her extreme political opinions has strengthened her resolve.
“Now I feel like I’ve gained clarity. When you are thrown into the fire in this kind of way, you figure out very quickly exactly what you’re about,” she exclaimed.
Indeed, even with her one-time suspension, Hill has continued to flaunt the company’s ban on overtly political talk in interviews and political posts on social media. And with ESPN continuing to treat her with its hands-off policy, it doesn’t appear that she will curtail her forays into far left-wing politics anytime soon.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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