Not a good look

Former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien has accused an unnamed executive producer at the network of insisting that she only book the “right kind” of black guests on her show.

O’Brien, who co-anchored CNN’s “American Morning” from 2003 to 2007, made the allegation in a pair of tweets Saturday, in which she alleged the producer singled out New York Times columnist Charles Blow as the “right kind” of black person, but not radio host Roland Martin.

“Reminds me of the cnn exec who told me: ‘Roland Martin isn’t the ‘right kind of’ Black person,’” O’Brien wrote in the tweet. “She didn’t want me to book him on my show.”

“Charles Blow, she told me, (also a frequent guest) was ‘the right kind of Black,’” the former CNN anchor added in a follow-up tweet.

Soledad O’Brien✔@soledadobrien

 · Jun 13, 2020

This is an interesting read. Reminds me of the cnn exec who told me: “Roland Martin isn’t the ‘right kind of’ Black person.” She didn’t want me to book him on my show. L https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1271827632431087617 …

Yashar Ali ✔@yashar

1. EXCLUSIVE: For the past six months I’ve been investigating a very powerful media executive you’ve never heard of: ABC News head of talent Barbara Fedida. What I uncovered is confidential settlements, racist and inappropriate statements, and more…https://bit.ly/2zxBjqA 

Soledad O’Brien✔@soledadobrien

Charles Blow, she told me, (also a frequent guest) was ‘the right kind of Black’.

1,365

10:02 PM – Jun 13, 2020

O’Brien’s tweet did not specify what exactly constituted the “right kind” of black guest for the network executive.

Blow, who also works as a CNN contributor, responded to O’Brien’s tweet on Sunday, saying, “I don’t know how to take this ‘good negro’ talk…”

Martin also responded to the story, appearing to support the claims.

“Dude, the internal sh** I had to encounter at CNN would blow folks away,” Martin wrote, adding in another tweet directed at Blow: “Bruh, the sh** said about me by certain people there behind closed doors …”

O’Brien’s tweets came in response to a Huffington Post story about ABC News executive Barbara Fedida alleging that Fedida has a long history of insensitive and racist comments, including once when she referred to cotton-picking with respect to a black reporter.

The story also noted that Fedida frequently referred to female employees at the company as “c**ts,” according to staffers who heard her use the word.

Fedida was placed on leave following the story’s publication, and ABC News has launched an internal investigation into the matter.