CNN star Jim Acosta rips Kim Kardashian's prison reform meeting with Trump, but lauded John Legend's activism on same during Obama years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN star reporter Jim Acosta slammed Kim Kardashian West’s meeting with President Trump regarding prison reform on Wednesday as “not normal,” but media watchers quickly pointed out his hypocrisy by pointing to Acosta's sitdown with singer John Legend's in 2015 during President Obama’s administration to talk about the exact same subject.
“She shouldn’t be here, talking about prison reform, it’s very nice that she is here but that’s not a serious thing to have happened here at the White House,” Acosta said on CNN Wednesday in the middle of a rant about Trump’s tweet regarding Roseanne Barr’s recent firing.
Acosta took issue with Kardashian West and Trump reportedly discussing prison reform and the possible pardon for a great-grandmother who is serving a drug-related life prison sentence. However, in 2015 Acosta sat down with Legend for a lengthy feature on mass incarceration and the criminal justice system.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When Legend declared that prison is not the solution to every problem, Acosta nodded approvingly before noting that prison reform is “personal” for the musician. Legend and his celebrity wife, Chrissy Teigen, visited the White House several times during the Obama administration and once hinted that they had sex at an “Obama thing.” Acosta never objected to any of Legend’s meetings with Obama.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding when Acosta changed his mind about celebrities discussing prison reform and visiting the White House.
The double standard didn’t go unnoticed. Mediaite’s Joseph Wulfsohn penned a column headlined, “Jim Acosta Trashes Kim Kardashian’s Prison Reform Efforts As Not ‘Serious’ After Taking John Legend’s Seriously in 2015,” which examines the CNN star’s abrupt change in attitude.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“If your argument is that Legend is some intellect singer-songwriter and Kardashian is some air-headed reality star, that misses the point. Look at what they have in common; they’re A-list celebrities with huge followings who have sincere passions that involve politics and in this case, both are using their celebrity status on prison reform,” Wulfsohn wrote.
Wulfsohn gave Acosta the “benefit of the doubt” that sexism isn’t a factor in the reporter’s flip-flopped views on celebrities using their star power in an attempt to impact prison reform.
“Perhaps it’s his disdain for Donald Trump, a president who he essentially admitted doesn’t take seriously,” Wulfsohn added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wulfsohn wasn’t the only watchdog to notice Acosta’s Hypocrisy. Fox News contributor Stephen Miller tweeted contradicting screen grabs of various tweets the CNN reporter has sent over the years, while countless others took to Twitter to mock Acosta.
Acosta recently bragged that he was kicked out of the Oval Office by President Trump, saying he wears it “as a badge of honor,” while being glorified for serving as White House antagonist during an appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Earlier this year, Trump kicked the CNN star out of the Oval Office after Acosta badgered the president with racially charged questions. Last month, Acosta was forced to do damage control after he was accused of taking personal shots at Trump supporters, saying “their elevator might not hit all floors.” He defended his comments, claiming that his words were “twisted by some outlets.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump has famously dubbed CNN “fake news” and pointed directly at Acosta, calling him by the disparaging moniker in the past. Last December, Acosta was shut down by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders when he tried to hijack a press briefing and he has also gotten into combative arguments with other members of the administration including former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller.