Al Sharpton's interview scandal becomes latest in decades-long history of controversies haunting MSNBC host
MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton is no stranger to controversy as revelations of what's been dubbed a "pay to play" scheme extends the long shadow of scandals that follow him.
Last week, MSNBC admitted it was "unaware" that Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign paid $500,000 to Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly Oct. 20 interview with the Democratic nominee just weeks before the election.
Following Harris’ defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October. However, the MSNBC weekend host did not disclose to viewers the apparent conflict of interest before or after the interview. Neither did he disclose the donations to his bosses at the network, according to the Washington Free Beacon, which broke the story.
Sharpton's political stripes are no secret as an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party, even speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But the six-figure transaction between his group and the Harris campaign is a "bridge too far" among his MSNBC colleagues, according to a network insider.
While it's unclear whether Sharpton will face any consequences for the blatant conflict of interest, it marks the latest scandal to face the outspoken activist. These are some of the controversies he has been engulfed in over the decades.
Sharpton has built a reputation for playing fast and loose when it comes to his taxes. In 1993, he pleaded guilty for not filing his 1986 tax return in exchange for having two felony charges dropped.
In 2008, it was revealed that Sharpton owed nearly a staggering $1.5 million in back taxes.
The New York Times outlined some of his other financial troubles over the years. In 1990, he was acquitted of felony charges after he was accused of stealing a whopping $250,000 from a youth group. Three years later, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after not filing a state income tax return. One of his for-profit businesses, Raw Talent, was also busted for not paying taxes for several years.
"Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses," the Times reported in 2014.
MSNBC WAS ‘UNAWARE’ HARRIS CAMPAIGN. GAVE $500K TO AL SHARPTON'S GROUP AHEAD OF FRIENDLY INTERVIEW
Despite his prominent stint at MSNBC, perhaps Sharpton is best known for rallying behind the infamous rape hoaxer Tawana Brawley.
Brawley, a 15-year-old Black girl, alleged in 1987 that she was kidnapped and raped by a group of White men after disappearing for four days from her New York home. She had been covered in feces and racial slurs written across her body.
Sharpton was among her closest advisers and was her most vocal defender, fueling racial tensions across the country in the process. A grand jury ultimately found her claims were false.
Sharpton himself was sued for defamation by one of individuals Brawley accused, who was awarded $65,000 in damages. Sharpton's supporters ended up footing the bill years later after he claimed he didn't have the money.
To this day, Sharpton has no regrets for defending Brawley.
"I have no evidence that I was misled," Sharpton said in a January 2023 interview. "My position was that there was this allegation from this young lady that was really questionable behavior by some that she accused."
The prominent activist has a disturbing record of antisemitism over the years.
In 1991, Sharpton defended New York City College Professor Leonard Jeffries, who sparked outrage with his speech targeting "rich Jews" he said financed the slave trade and controlled Hollywood, saying they "put together a system of destruction for Black people." He responded to the controversy by saying ""If the Jews want to get it on, tell them to pin their yarmulkes back and come over to my house."
KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEWERS RECEIVED LARGE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS TO THEIR GROUPS AHEAD OF SIT-DOWNS
That same year, Sharpton fueled a deadly antisemitic mob in Crown Heights, Brooklyn after a Jewish man fatally stuck a 7-year-old Black boy with his car in a horrific accident.
At the boy's funeral, Sharpton said "The world will tell us he was killed by accident. Yes, it was a social accident. It’s an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights… Talk about how Oppenheimer in South Africa sends diamonds straight to Tel Aviv and deals with the diamond merchants right here in Crown Heights." His use of "diamond merchants" was referencing Jewish jewelers. He also led protests that included chants like "Kill the Jews!" and "No Justice, No Peace!"
The riots led to the fatal stabbing of rabbinical scholar Yankel Rosenbaum by a Black teen.
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The incident was investigated and no charges were brought. But after the Jewish man moved to Israel, Sharpton rushed to the Jewish State to hunt him down. According to the New York Daily News, a woman spotted Sharpton at the airport and told him to "Go to hell" to which he replied "I am in hell already. I am in Israel."
In 1995, Sharpton referred to a Jewish store owner in Harlem as a "White interloper" after the store owner raised the rent of its Black subtenant after the store owner's own rent was raised by the building's owner, a Black Pentecostal church. Sharpton and his National Action Network organized weeks-long protests that led to a shooting that killed seven people and the Jewish store owner's business burned to the ground.