‘Morning Joe’ Brings in Al Sharpton Of All People to Discuss Adidas Dropping Kanye For Anti-Semitism

MSNBC’s Morning Joe had Rev. Al Sharpton on to discuss Adidas dropping Kanye West over his anti-Semitic remarks – despite Sharpton’s own history of anti-Semitism in the 1990s, a past he has never apologized for.

Sharpton did acknowledge his harmful rhetoric in the segment, but his comments were little more than lip service to the grim record:

Kanye is a great artist, but it is now clear that it’s intentional. … When he says I say something anti-Semitic and they can’t drop me. So we’re not even arguing about whether it is intentional now. Some of us, 25 years ago, Mrs. [Coretta Scott] King sat me down and said whether or not you mean it, you’re saying things that are harmful and that could be interpreted wrong, you need to clean it up. Joe Scarborough and I had honest talks about that.

This is not saying I didn’t understand that, I didn’t understand. This is somebody owning this. So if he’s going to own that he’s anti-Semitic, how can Adidas use him or anybody else to advertise what they sell? He’s saying George Floyd didn’t die of the knee, that it was drugs. So I mean, how many times is he going to cross the line and now even having banners raised saying praising him as being anti-Semitic. And you going to have him advertise your product. That is not – the bottom line decision shouldn’t be that, do you have a moral compass ever company ought to ask.

As made clear in this MSNBC segment, Sharpton did apparently realize some time ago his rhetoric was unacceptable. But he has never apologized for it. As Leil Leibovitz wrote in 2020, since the Crown Heights riots, “Sharpton was given ample opportunity to apologize for his prominent role in this modern day anti-Semitic bloodletting. He never did.”

Sharpton is the last person on MSNBC’s payroll who should be invited on air to opine on violent rhetoric. His past record of anti-Semitic comments, comments which preceded anti-Semitic violence, speaks for itself.

Watch above via MSNBC.

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