Are There No Other TV Lawyers? Twitter Reacts With Bewildered Disgust at Jeff Toobin’s Return to CNN

Sarah RumpfJun 10th, 2021, 5:26 pm
 

Dear readers, it is my somber task to inform you of a newly-endangered species whose population has apparently plummeted to near-extinction levels: the cable news legal commentator. Yes, indeed, it seems there is a tragic shortage of attorneys who are willing to undergo the burden of wearing in-ear monitors for agonizing minutes at a time in exchange for merely being able to promote themselves to millions of people on national television and cash an overly lucrative paycheck.

I mean, what explanation could there be for CNN’s awkward relaunch of Jeffrey Toobin other than they just can’t find any other lawyers to go on TV?

“In October, you were on a Zoom call with your colleagues from the New Yorker magazine,” Alisyn Camerota said to Toobin during a cringetastic segment on CNN Newsroom Thursday afternoon. “Everyone took a break for several minutes, during which time you were caught masturbating on camera. You were subsequently fired from that job, after 27 years of working there. And you, since then, have been on leave from CNN. Do I have all that right?

“You got it all right, sad to say,” Toobin replied, calling his actions “deeply moronic and indefensible.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Camerota asked Toobin. We’d like to pose the same question to the network. What the hell are they thinking?

To be fair, Toobin does seem to be telling the truth that his risqué online exposure was unintentional, and it’s certainly far below some of the more shocking #MeToo tales that have plagued Hollywood and the media for years. The guy doesn’t deserve to be permanently barred from all opportunities to earn a living, but can’t the standard be a tiny bit higher than “thanks for not sexually assaulting any of your colleagues”?

Here’s Brian Stelter’s take on how their network handled Toobin’s Zoomtastrophe:

CNN took a different approach. The network said he asked for some time off “while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted.” This turned into a leave of absence without any clear sign of whether he’d ultimately return.

Toobin’s viewers occasionally inquired about whether he’d be back on the air, and neither he nor CNN commented.

Some anchors and hosts at CNN also expressed a desire to have Toobin back on their shows, since he has been a leading legal voice on television for decades.

He’s “been a leading legal voice on television for decades”? Oh, OK then. I understand how difficult it must be to find attorneys who have enough of an ego to want to promote themselves on television.

I’ve never met Toobin. Maybe CNN is right to view him as irreplaceable. Maybe he really is an absolutely delightful man who’s always treated his colleagues with respect and who’s been a fine, upstanding citizen except for this one isolated aberration in an otherwise angelic life?

Oh. Wait. Maybe he isn’t.

The chattering hordes of blue checks on Twitter weren’t inclined to grant any additional grace to the guy who has made “zoom dick” trend twice this millennium, and that’s two times too many.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.