It was the very polite battle of the century, as British talk-show host Piers Morgan and officially certified not-witch Christine O’Donnell went head to head on CNN. And by “head to head”, I mean had a slightly abrupt interview. While talking to Morgan on Piers Morgan Tonight, O’Donnell abandoned ship after repeated questions from the host regarding some of her more controversial opinions, including her views on gay marriage and masturbation.
O’Donnell, who lost the Delaware senate election in 2010, appeared on the interview program to discuss her new book, Troublemaker: Let’s Do What It Takes To Make America Great Again. Also known by its pithy acronym, T:LDWITTMAGAAAAaaa. Piers initially focused questioning around her most controversial opinion: a video from the 90s in which she spoke out against masturbation and called it “sinful.” The Tea-Party darling avoided directly answering Morgan’s questions, but further lost her composure when Morgan questioned her regarding her views on gay marriage, a current hot-button issue. O’Donnell stated that she only wanted to discuss topics pertaining to her book, but Morgan maintained that since the issue was touched upon in said book, it was up for debate, at which point O’Donnell walked out of the studio.
Personal views of O’Donnell aside, it’s clear she was in the wrong here. The point of an interview is to answer questions; if she wanted to make a canned speech, there are other venues through which to do that. Masturbation may not be the most traditional topic for an interview with a failed senatorial candidate, but she’s the one who made it a political issue in the first place, instead of a private matter. Of course, none of this is a big deal, it’s really just a minor breakdown of courtesy. But when politics can seem so scripted, it’s nice to see a little spontaneity break through.
Source: EW
