Well, ESPN certainly has quite the mess on its hands …

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

Lock your doors, bears are coming for your groceries.

RACIAL Justice

Over at ESPN, they have a mess on their hands. According to a New York Times piece that came out this weekend, one of their hosts, Rachel Nichols, who is white, was caught on tape complaining that her fellow host Maria Taylor, who is Black, was given the NBA Finals hosting gig while she was stuck doing sideline reporting. Nichols suggested that Taylor was chosen for the job over her to address some of ESPN’s struggles with diversity.

“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said in July 2020. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”

All of these comments, which were being made to Adam Mendelsohn, LeBron James’s advisor, and James’s agent, Rich Paul, were caught on Nichols’ own video camera, by the way. An employee at ESPN happened to see the video via a company server, recorded it on a cell phone, and soon the comments were being circulated among other employees, some of whom were considering boycotting coverage of the Finals in response.

As the story broke, ESPN pulled Nichols from sideline coverage, replacing her with Malika Andrews. Nichols issued a brief apology at the beginning of her show, The Jump on Monday.

ESPN preempted her show on Tuesday.

And now, understandably, The National Association of Black Journalists is demanding a meeting with ESPN and Disney to discuss the whole situation.

Vanessa Williams sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is commonly known as “the Black national anthem” at the Capitol Fourth of July event, and, predictably, people lost their damn minds.

BREAKING NEWS: Jesse Watters is still a fucking idiot.

Big Brother has its most diverse cast ever and people are here for it.

An update on the stupid “Critical Race Theory” battles erupting around this country:

And finally, Nikole Hannah-Jones has declined the job at the University of North Carolina and will be teaching at Howard University instead. Good for her.

All Other TV News

I know you know about Frankenbiting, the unethical practice that some reality TV shows use to make it sound like someone said something they did not say, but this long piece about it is still fascinating. Long and short of it: if you don’t see someone actually say something, tread carefully.

Good Girls was canceled because a supporting actor demanded more money? Yeah, that doesn’t … sound right.

Are you vacationing with children or starring in a gripping medical drama?

General Hospital has built itself a pool.

Yeah, sure, Coronation Street received a visit from the Queen, but does it have its own swimming pool?

Paul Rudd is a mensch.

And Damon Lindelof is having some fun with it:

Fox News is looking for liberals willing to be on their network.

Tucker Carlson was pursuing an interview with Vladimir Putin right before he started screaming about the NSA monitoring his emails. Which complicates things, right? I mean, the NSA’s response to Carlson’s accusations that he and his staff were being spied on was that he wasn’t a target, and that they only monitor foreign actors’ communications. But if Carlson was emailing with a bunch of Russians, then, yeah, it’s possible the NSA saw his emails when they were monitoring the Russians’ communications. And for all the conservatives who were OUTRAGED by Carlson’s claims of being spied on, where was that outrage for the CNN, Washington Post, and New York Times reporters who literally did have their emails and phone calls collected by the Trump Department of Justice? Hmm?

Former President Illiterate is suing Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for being suspended from the platforms after he stoked an insurrection and the storming of the Capitol. I would mock this as it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of going anywhere (the First Amendment only prevents the government from impinging on your right to free speech; private entities have no obligation to host your speech) except it’s clearly being used to 1. stoke outrage towards the platforms and 2. raise money.

This is the definition of a successful ad. Less than six hours after this video was posted, Toyota put out a statement promising to stop donating money to the sedition caucus:

Well done, guys.

Renewals

  • Evil has been renewed for a third season on Paramount+ (HOORAY!)
  • Rutherford Falls has been renewed for a second season on Peacock.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • American Horror Stories will premiere on FX on Hulu on July 15.
  • Scenes from a Marriage will premiere on HBO in September.
  • Mr. Corman will debut on Apple TV+ on August 6.
  • McCartney 3,2,1 will premiere on Hulu on July 16.
  • Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage will premiere on Netflix on July 23.
  • Resort to Love will premiere on Netflix on July 29.
  • Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will premiere on Lifetime soon.

  • The Kissing Booth 3 will debut on Netflix on August 11.
  • Kingdom: Ashin of the North will debut on Netflix on July 23.
  • Control Z will premiere on Netflix on August 4.
  • Baki Hanma will debut on Netflix soon.

R.I.P.

Robert Downey Sr., Director and father of Robert Downey, Jr.

Ayesha K. Faines, Broadcast and print journalist

Rick Laird, Bass guitarist with Mahavishu Orchestra and Return to Forever

WATCH THIS

Gossip Girl: It just doesn’t feel like all that long ago that the original Gossip Girl was on the air? Is this what getting old is like? HBO Max

grown-ish: Zoey and friends go to Mexico in the season premiere. 7 p.m., Freeform

Son: A mother with a dark past tries to save her creepy son from sinister forces in this new horror film. Shudder

Late Night:

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nick Kroll, Chiney Ogwumike, Macy Gray & the California Jet Club, guest host Wanda Sykes
THUR 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC NBA Playoffs
(live)
CBS Young Sheldon
(repeat)		 United States of Al
(repeat)		 Love Island
(repeat)		 Bull
(repeat)
CW World’s Funniest Animals
(repeat)		 World’s Funniest Animals
(repeat)		 ET Presents… 9021OMG! The Cast Tells All
(new)		 News/Local
FOX Beat Shazam
(new)		 LEGO Masters
(repeat)		 News/Local
NBC Making It
(new)		 Good Girls
(new)		 Law & Order: Organized Crime
(repeat)

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