Sarah Palin lashes Martin Bashir over his 'unethical behavior'
Sarah Palin lashes disgraced Princess Diana interviewer Martin Bashir over his ‘unethical behavior’ – eight years after journalist branded ex-Alaska governor a ‘world class idiot’ and had to quit MSNBC
- The former governor of Alaska waded into the controversy Friday, claiming the ex-BBC journalist ‘has been caught so many times’ engaging in rogue tactics
- Palin said the findings finally bring some ‘justice’ to Diana’s memory as she hit out at the disgraced journalist for his ‘unethical press behavior’
- In 2013, Palin and Bashir locked horns over comments she made comparing national debt to slavery
- Then-MSNBC host Bashir slammed Palin, calling her a ‘world class idiot’ and suggesting someone urinate or defecate on her – punishments used on slaves
- Bashir faced a backlash and apologized before resigning from MSNBC
- This week a damning inquiry into Bashir’s controversial Princess Diana interview found he had acted in a ‘deceitful’ way, using fake bank statements to meet her
- The forged documents falsely indicated palace aides were spying on Diana
- Bashir and the BBC have apologized; Princes William and Harry blasted them
Sarah Palin has slammed Martin Bashir’s ‘unethical press behavior’ after a damning report found he used ‘deceitful’ methods to obtain his 1995 interview with Princess Diana.
The former governor of Alaska waded into the controversy Friday, claiming the ex-BBC journalist ‘has been caught so many times’ engaging in rogue tactics.
Palin’s comments come eight years after she personally locked horns with Bashir when he branded her a ‘world class idiot’ in a saga that ultimately led to him quitting his role at MSNBC.
Bashir stood down as the BBC’s religion editor last week citing health reasons – just days before retired high court judge Lord Dyson published his investigation into the controversial Princess Diana interview.
The bombshell report said Bashir had acted in a ‘deceitful’ way, using fake bank statements to meet with the princess and obtain the interview.
Sarah Palin (above) has slammed Martin Bashir’s ‘unethical press behavior’ after a damning report found he used ‘deceitful’ methods to obtain his 1995 interview with Princess Diana
Palin, who recently appeared on reality show The Masked Singer, said the findings finally bring some ‘justice’ to Diana’s memory as she hit out at the disgraced journalist.
‘I just think it’s sad that it’s taken so long for Princess Di’s memory to be touched by some justice,’ Palin said in a statement to Fox News.
‘Martin has been caught so many times engaging in typically unethical press behavior, yet is always embraced back in their fold.’
Palin also took aim at the wider press calling them ‘strange ‘professionals” who ‘can destroy a person or a family’ with their ‘unethical ways.’
‘The press doesn’t understand that their unethical ways and means of covering and characterizing their victims can destroy a person or a family, and less importantly a career,’ she said.
She added: ‘These are strange ‘professionals’ that we deal with in the press, and I’m anxious for the day that consumers of media will rise up and demand truth and justice.’
Back in November 2013, Palin and Bashir clashed over comments the former Republican governor had made comparing national debt to slavery.
‘The definition of slavery is to be beholden to a master, and we will be beholden when that note is due,’ Palin said in an interview on Fox News.
Bashir slammed Palin for her comments on his MSNBC ‘Clearing The Air’ segment, calling her a ‘world class idiot’ and America’s ‘resident dunce,’ reported The Atlantic.
The former governor of Alaska waded into the controversy Friday, claiming the ex-BBC journalist ‘has been caught so many times’ engaging in rogue tactics. Pictured Bashir and Diana in the 1995 interview
Key conclusions of the bombshell report that brought shame on the BBC and Bashir
He said her analogy was ‘abominable to anyone who knows anything about [slavery’s] barbaric history.’
Bashir went as far as to suggest that someone should urinate on her face or defecate in her mouth – two punishments used on slaves that were detailed in Thomas Thistlewood’s diary.
‘When Mrs. Palin invokes slavery, she doesn’t just prove her rank ignorance,’ he said.
‘She confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate.’
Bashir faced a backlash over his comments and later apologized live on air.
Palin responded saying she accepted his apology.
‘Who am I to not accept an apology? Everyone must humble themselves and accept that offer of apology,’ she said.
However she went on to slam his comments as ‘evil’ and ‘vile’ while insisting she stood by her remarks on slavery
‘I don’t have to accept his words, his vile, evil comments, so they don’t have to affect me. I move on and I charge forth,’ she said.
Bashir then resigned from MSNBC with immediate effect after three years with the network.
Bashir is now weathering a fresh storm of criticism, following Thursday’s publication of the Dyson inquiry.
It concluded that Bashir had shown Diana’s brother Earl Spencer fake bank statements which ‘deceived and induced him to arrange a meeting with Princess Diana.’
The forged documents were used to falsely indicate that two senior Royal aides were being paid to spy on the princess and were plotting against her.
Palin’s comments come eight years after she personally locked horns with Bashir when he branded her a ‘world class idiot’ in a saga that ultimately led to him quitting his role at MSNBC. Bashir hitting out at Palin in 2013 above
They also gave the impression the palace staff were selling stories on Diana to the press.
Spencer said he would never have made the introduction between Bashir and his sister if he hadn’t been shown the documents.
‘By gaining access to Princess Diana in this way, Mr Bashir was able to persuade her to agree to give the interview,’ the report says.
This behavior was also a breach of the broadcaster’s guidelines.
The report also condemned the actions of the BBC saying it fell short of ‘high standards of integrity and transparency’.
Matt Wiessler, the graphic designer commissioned to mock up the fake documents, had raised his concerns with the BBC soon after the interview aired.
The BBC launched its own 1996 investigation. Dyson’s newly-published report found that original probe was ‘woefully ineffective’.
Bashir apologized this week for using fake bank statements admitting it was a ‘stupid thing to do’ but insisted that played no part in securing the interview with Diana.
‘It was a stupid thing to do and was an action I deeply regret,’ Bashir said in a statement.
Prince William said Bashir ‘played on [Diana’s] fears and fueled paranoia’ and influenced what she divulged in the interview
Prince Harry said his mother ‘lost her life because of this’ and called the report the ‘first step towards justice and truth’
‘But I absolutely stand by the evidence I gave a quarter of a century ago, and again more recently.’
‘I also reiterate that the bank statements had no bearing whatsoever on the personal choice by Princess Diana to take part in the interview.’
He maintained that he is still proud of the interview, which caused a worldwide sensation after Diana spoke openly of her affair with James Hewitt, her eating disorder, and then-husband Charles’s affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
The BBC has also apologized admitting there were ‘clear failings’ on its part. It has written to Princes William, Harry, Charles and Diana’s brother.
William and Harry have both released damning statements about Bashir and the BBC following the release of the report.
Harry said his mother ‘lost her life because of this’ and called the report the ‘first step towards justice and truth.’
‘The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life,’ he said in a statement.
‘To those who have taken some form of accountability, thank you for owning it. That is the first step towards justice and truth.’
He added: ‘Yet what deeply concerns me is that practices like these — and even worse — are still widespread today.
‘Then, and now, it’s bigger than one outlet, one network, or one publication. Our mother lost her life because of this, and nothing has changed.
‘By protecting her legacy, we protect everyone, and uphold the dignity with which she lived her life. Let’s remember who she was and what she stood for.’
William said Bashir ‘played on [Diana’s] fears and fueled paranoia’ and influenced what she divulged in the interview.
‘It is welcome that the BBC accepts Lord Dyson’s findings in full – which are extremely concerning – that BBC employees: lied and used fake documents to obtain the interview with my mother; made lurid and false claims about the Royal Family which played on her fears and fueled paranoia; displayed woeful incompetence when investigating complaints and concerns about the program; and were evasive in their reporting to the media and covered up what they knew from their internal investigation,’ he said.
In the 1995 interview, Diana told Bashir there were ‘three of us’ in her marriage to Prince Charles – in a damning reference to his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles
‘It is my view that the deceitful way the interview was obtained substantially influenced what my mother said.
‘The interview was a major contribution to making my parents’ relationship worse and has since hurt countless others.’
He added: ‘It brings indescribable sadness to know that the BBC’s failures contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation that I remember from those final years with her.’
William also took aim at the BBC saying the ‘rogue reporter’ Bashir was not the only one to blame but also the ‘leaders at the BBC who looked the other way rather than asking the tough questions.’
In the 1995 interview, Diana told Bashir there were ‘three of us’ in her marriage to Prince Charles – in a damning reference to his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
Just two years later in 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris while her car was being chased by paparazzi.
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