Maxine Waters has once again proved she will not back down in the face of opposition — even if that face comes in the form of Bill O’Reilly and his sexist and racist mouth. On an episode of Fox and Friends, O’Reilly and other co-hosts played and watched a clip of Water’s delivering a speech on the House floor criticizing Trump and his supporters. After the clip played, the Fox and Friends hosts asked O’Reilly what he thought of her speech.
O’Reilly had this to say: “I — I didn’t hear a word she said, I was looking at the James Brown wig.”
Female co-host Ainsley Earhardt tried to defend Water’s appearance — which would’ve been the best time for O’Reilly to backtrack and apologize, but instead, he thought it a much better idea to defend his comments. “I love James Brown, but it’s the same hair, James Brown — all right, the godfather of soul — had,” O’Reilly replied.
In an interview with Chris Haynes on MSNBC, Waters defended herself and all women who have been the targets of racist and sexist comments: “Let me just say this: I’m a strong black woman and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought to be afraid of Bill O’Reilly or anybody,” Waters continued, “And I’d like to say to women out there everywhere: Don’t allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people, to intimidate you or scare you. Be who you are. Do what you do. And let us get on with discussing the real issues of this country.”
O’Reilly went on to almost compliment Waters but did even a botched job at that, saying, “She’s a sincere individual. Whatever she says, she believes. She’s not a phony, all right? And that’s old school,” he continued, “So we’re giving Maxine a break here. I love you, Maxine. I want to see you on the Factor and, when hell freezes over, I’m sure that’ll happen.” After the episode aired, O’Reilly publicly apologized, claiming his comments were “dumb.’ I guess if you deliver a half-assed apology, you’re in the clear, right? Wrong. And Waters was having none of it.
Maxine Waters has become one of the most outspoken voices against Trump and time and time again has proved that she is more than willing to call both him and his supporters out. After the upheaval around O’Reilly’s comment, the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork began trending, encouraging women of color everywhere to stand up for themselves and others. Waters is an immovable force that we all stand behind.
Top photo via Youtube/MSNBC
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