Shepard Smith Hit With Gigantic Twitter Backlash After Chastising Bobby Jindal For Saying ‘All Lives Matter’ On Fox News
Shepard Smith may be a veteran reporter at Fox News with many professional accolades, but he certainly managed to upset a lot of people Sunday afternoon. Breitbart has the news.
“During a Sunday broadcast, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith scolded former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for daring to use the phrase ‘all lives matter.’ Smith slapped at Jindal and insisted the phrase is seen as a ‘derogatory’ and racist term.”
Breitbart notes that Jindal insisted that everybody’s lives mattered and that we have to come together to end the unnecessary bickering over whose life is or isn’t important.
Needless to say, the comments after the article universally condemn Shepard Smith.
“What an a**. If I ran Fox, Shepard would be fired for abysmally bad judgment,” says Golden Rule.
“What a vile and disgusting man. Who thinks that way?” asks Be Still.
Twitter is calling for Shepard Smith to be fired.
#rogerailes @Shepherd Smith needs to go. He is fanning the flames by saying we can't say All lives matter. That it's insulting. #moron
— Sharon L (@SharonM08090730) July 17, 2016
The former governor was responding to a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where three officers were shot dead. CNN was one of the first to report on the latest violent tragedy.
“Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald and Brad Garafola are the names of the three law enforcement officers killed Sunday morning in the shootout in Baton Rouge, according to sources close to the department and corroborated with social media posts. Jackson’s aunt confirmed his death earlier.”
The article adds that a Missouri man was responsible for the killings and that this shooting comes after police officers have been on high alert after five officers were killed in a Dallas ambush on July 7.
Despite the general feeling that Fox News only hires conservatives, Shepard Smith has been an outspoken liberal on the channel. According to Salon, he called out other Fox News personalities for smearing the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015.
“Think of the narrative that came out of that from so many, many places — it’s the fault of the Black Lives Matter movement and all of this stuff that was just…it really turned up the rhetoric and it really was factually wrong,” Salon quotes Smith as saying to his Fox News colleagues.
Many Fox News watchers may not always agree with Shepard Smith, but like his personality and his in-depth interviews. However, many at Fox feel Smith walked over the line this time, especially when we need to acknowledge that all people’s lives matter in wake of recent shootings in the LGBT community and police force.
“To those who find it offensive or misguided, especially those sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement, the statement — particularly in a social media hashtag — is not seen as a Kumbaya sentiment but as a way to remove focus from the specific grievances of black Americans.”
The article adds that the #alllivesmatter hashtag has led to a backlash against many celebrities, even African American ones. It’s doubtful that the debate will end anytime soon.
Fox News has not responded to the tremendous backlash against Shepard Smith yet. Do you think Mr. Smith went over the line in slapping Bobby Jindal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
