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Anderson Cooper Scolds Reporter Who Asks For 'Selfie' At Ottawa Shooting Site
Anderson Cooper got into a verbal altercation with a Sun News contributor Wednesday night while reporting live on the horrific shooting in Ottawa, Canada.
Cooper was taking a break from live coverage when journalist Vandon Gene approached him and asked for a photo. Cooper quickly denied the request due to the circumstances, telling Gene to “have a little respect.”
But when he wouldn’t back down, Cooper didn’t hold back.
“No, I will not take a photo with you on a day where someone was killed,” Cooper said firmly. “It seems wildly inappropriate.”
Gene continued to press Cooper on Twitter Wednesday night for refusing to take a picture with him.
“I can’t believe CNN would employ you when you SWEAR to your fans,” he tweeted. Adding: “I simply asked for a photo. YOU are exploiting this tragedy by flying to Ottawa from NYC. I just got out of a 12 hr lockdown.”
The tweets have since been deleted, but were captured in a screen grab:
I wonder if @SunNewsNetwork is aware of the conduct of their employee @vandongene here? pic.twitter.com/zsbEgRTVSk
— Chris Alexander (@ChrisAlexand3r) October 23, 2014
And Cooper responded:
.@vandongene dude, you were rude and asking for a selfie near where a soldier was killed. It was completely inappropriate. Think about it
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) October 23, 2014
.@vandongene I can’t believe any station employs you, and if you want to be a journalist, learn how to behave when covering a story
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) October 23, 2014
Gene apologized early Thursday morning for the incident, though not to Cooper directly:
I unreservedly apologize for my actions yesterday. It was completely inappropriate, disrespectful, and distasteful.
— Vandon Gene (@vandongene) October 23, 2014
H/T Mediaite
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