Wendy Williams, the New Jersey talk-show host, is among the many critics calling for NBC’s Brian Williams to be fired following his apparent Iraq War memory fabrication.
“I really have very little to nothing to say about the next story, because my answer is fire him and he has no more credibility with me, period,” Wendy Williams said Friday on the Hot Talk segment of her television program.
CNN anchor Don Lemon, comedian Heather McDonald and television personality Siggy Flicker joined Williams during the segment.
“OK, he told the same story years ago on David Letterman. David Letterman actually drooled and said ‘I’ve been waiting for you to come and tell the story.’ After he told it, Letterman called him, he said, ‘You’re not a man — you’re a hero.’ And Brian, you sat there like a narcissist and sucked it up,” Wendy Williams said.
“He’s supposed to be the most credible newsman of our time,” she said. “I believe he needs to lose his job.”
Watch the sparks fly on @WendyWilliams I'm on with @donlemon @siggyflicker today! pic.twitter.com/qB6FJ9AAiq
— HEATHER McDONALD (@HeatherMcDonald) February 6, 2015
Brian Williams is in a world of bad after coming under fire this week after a story that he was in a helicopter that was shot down while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003 was called out by the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.
Brian Williams apologized during Wednesday’s edition of the nightly news, but it is unclear whether his career can weather the storm.
Further accusations of fabricating stories emerged Thursday when The New Orleans Advocate questioned Brian Williams‘ career-boosting claim that he contracted dysentery after drinking contaminated water while covering Hurricane Katrina.
NBC launches internal probe on Brian Williams claims, network says http://t.co/VGzWqRzliN pic.twitter.com/LG01xIjOp2
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 6, 2015
“It’s gonna be tough for him, I think, right now he should put his head down and do his job and see how the public reacts,” said Lemon. “And I’m looking for a better explanation, or a more solid explanation.”
Wendy Williams was adamant on her stand to see him fired.
“We don’t need a better one — he lied about being a hero,” she said.
Flicker suggested America be the judge and jury.
“He bragged about something that didn’t happen and he got caught. He created his own drama, he deserves, now, his own karma. End of story,” said Flicker. “And guess what? Let America — let America vote. Let’s see if his ratings stay the same or they go down.”
BREAKING: Brian Williams to take leave of absence from NBC News http://t.co/OOwSuD0DOr pic.twitter.com/x9xrABnydm
— Variety (@Variety) February 7, 2015
Lemon said Wendy Williams’ expectations of news anchors were too high.
“I also think, too, when you think of the old-school newsperson like you said, you know, ‘the voice of God,’ I think those days are long gone and that’s just a fallacy,” Lemon told Wendy Williams.
“OK, they might be long gone in some peoples’ minds, but when you look at Brian Williams, I still consider him to have to walk the same line of Walter Cronkite and them,” Wendy Williams said. “And now, he’s got no credibility to me. If he told me the sky was blue, I’d have to go outside and look for myself. I’m sorry.”