‘I’ve Never Fat-Shamed Anyone’: Marianne Williamson Goes On The Defensive Following CNN Interview
Democratic presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson took to Twitter on Friday to clarify her positions following a tense interview on CNN on Thursday.
Williamson appeared on CNN on Thursday and was grilled by anchor Anderson Cooper, who confronted Williamson about past comments the author had made about medicine.
As The Daily Beast reported, Cooper asked Williamson about past comments that the self-help guru, who has made headlines for her unconventional comments during primary debates, made about the use of antidepressants.
Cooper also mentioned that Williamson had previously said she believed clinical depression to be a “scam,” though Williamson did apologize for making that comment.
On Twitter on Friday, Williamson took the opportunity to reiterate her views following the CNN appearance.
“I’m pro medicine,” Williamson declared on the social media website. “I’m pro science. I’ve never told anyone not to take medicine. I’ve never fat-shamed anyone. And today there’s a new one: no I don’t support Scientology. The machinery of mischaracterization is in high gear now.”
“Gee, did I upset someone?” Williamson asked her 2.7 million Twitter followers.
Her clarification about the Church of Scientology is almost certainly in response to a question Cooper asked her about comments she had previously made about Robin Williams’ 2014 death, in which she implied that his suicide could have been the result of taking antidepressants.
Marianne Williamson confronts past statements about antidepressants and depression https://t.co/X1jb8AINSq pic.twitter.com/knntwqAuCT
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 2, 2019
As CNN notes, Williamson did not address her past comments directly, though as The Daily Beast reported, Cooper asked her if she supported the Church of Scientology since the the article she had cited at the time was supported by that church, which does not believe in antidepressants.
Cooper asked if she would want a member of the Church of Scientology to be at the head of the CDC in her administration, should she become president.
As The New York Times reports, Williamson was notably the only candidate at CNN’s two-night debate event this week to make a concrete statement in support of providing reparations to black Americans for the effects of slavery that still exist. Per The New York Times, Williamson has frequently said she supported reparations, though she has not said how she would fund such a program.
As The Daily Beast reported, Williamson chalked up many of her past controversial statements as what she called “glib” during her 16-minute appearance with Cooper on CNN.
Following her interview on the cable news network, the author took to Twitter on Thursday to say that she wasn’t expecting such an “aggressive” interview with Cooper, though she admitted it might be good practice for a potential future face-off against current President Donald Trump.
