Talk show host Montel Williams has apologized for an angry confrontation with reporters who said he threatened them. Williams -- in Savannah to promote a program giving free prescriptions to low-income people -- became upset with a reporter's question Friday and terminated an interview. When the Savannah Morning-News reporters later returned to the hotel for an unrelated assignment, he approached one of them -- high school student Courtney Scott, an intern at the newspaper."As we were preparing to film, Montel walked up with his bodyguard and got in Courtney Scott's face pointing his finger telling her 'Don't look at me like that. Do you know who I am? I'm a big star, and I can look you up, find where you live and blow you up,"' said Joseph Cosey, a web content producer for the newspaper. At this time he was randomly pointing at all of us." Scott said she wasn't sure how to interpret Williams' comment. "I'm not sure if he meant 'blow me up' and ruin my career or really blow us up, but it was threatening," Scott said.
Williams, a patient advocate since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, later issued a statement apologizing for the outburst. "I mistakenly thought the reporter and photographer in question were at the hotel to confront me about some earlier comments," Williams said. "I was wrong, and I apologize for my overreaction."
The earlier interview ended after Scott asked Williams: "Do you think pharmaceutical companies would be discouraged from research and development if their profits were restricted?"
According to the reporters, Williams reacted angrily, saying: "I'm trying to figure out exactly why you are here and what the interview is about. I'm here as a patient advocate talking about the fact that medications available today are saving people's lives, that's what's saving mine and after that, this interview is done."
2 comments:
Look at Montel trying to be hard, I laugh at the fool that actually felt threaten by him.
To the Savannah Morning News:
Why doesn't someone at your newspaper explain to your intern, young Courtney Scott, that the word is "ASK," not "AKS."
Anyone who aspires to be a newspaper reporter should learn the language, and not be promulgating ignorance. And anyone who is charged with the training of yourg people for future careers (in journalism or anything else) should have the courage to step up to the task of training them to the jobs for which they aspire. So I ASK again,
Why doesn't someone at your newspaper explain to the so-called reporter that the word is "ASK," not "AKS."
Regards,
Ted Thompson
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Ted A. Thompson
http://phfft.blogspot.com
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