BET Fires Prize-Winning Journalist For Publishing Michelle Obama Q & A

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The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, was fired by the BET Network from its conference for publishing a Q&A with Michelle Obama, claiming that her talk had been conducted in a “sacred space.”

Robin posted a piece Wednesday quoting Obama discussing her campaign experiences in 2008: “I couldn’t count on my husband’s campaign to protect me; I had to protect myself.” When BET brass saw the story, they kicked Givhan out and canceled a panel she was due to moderate.

BThe network posted sections of the interview on its website, while Valerie Jarrett, who conducted the chat, teased on social media that fans should “tune in to BET” to hear all that Obama really said, reports Page Six. Robin was then subjected to a barrage of abuse, with one tweeter saying she “violated a sacred trust between women, black women.” Writer Jamilah Lemieux posted, “This is a complete violation of journalistic ethics and Black girl code,” while other journalists defended Givhan.

A BET rep insisted Givhan was “invited as a guest (not working press) to moderate a fashion panel,” and her travel and hotel were paid for by BET.

“She was made aware that it was an intimate conversation in a sacred space of sisterhood and fellowship.”

H/T: Page Six.