Here’s a chapter in the culture wars that no one saw coming: Sarah Palin and Fox News facing off against ’80s rap star and actor LL Cool J.
Palin makes her hosting debut Thursday night on Fox, as captain of an interview special in Greta Von Susteren’s 10 p.m. slot. The show is called “Real American Stories,” and the New York Daily News explainsthat it chronicles “people who have overcome adversity and more.”
Among the success stories Palin plans to highlight are those of country music star Toby Keith, former GE Chairman Jack Welch, and a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. LL Cool J (birth nameJames Todd Smith) was also included in the roster — which prompted some conservative commenters to gloat a bit.
Popular conservative blogger Allahpundit tweaked liberals who accuse Tea Party supporters of racist sympathies, saying they’ll be “shocked to find the alleged Grand Dragon of the tea-party movement making chitchat with a hip-hop legend.”
The problem is that no such chitchat was produced for the Palin show. LL Cool J, star of “NCIS: Los Angeles,” tweeted Tuesday night: “Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW.”
When contacted by Yahoo! News for comment, Fox News provided us with a statement:
“Real American Stories features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith’s interview fit that criteria. However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career.”
Attempts to reach LL Cool J for comment proved unsuccessful. Perhaps he intends a more recent Twitter entry to serve as his rejoinder to the Fox statement: “Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.”
— Brett Michael Dykes is a national news writer for Yahoo! News.
