Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez did not mince words when a Fox News producer approached her on Wednesday and urged her to appear on the show of far right pundit Jesse Watters. The conversation suddenly got tense, and the New York Democrat left after saying she had been harassed over and over again.
“Jesse Watters would like to invite you on his show,” the producer said.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Ocasio Cortez replied.
When the producer pushed more and said, “Would you join him?” Her tone changed. Ocasio Cortez made it obvious that she didn’t want to and gave a reason why.
“He has sexualized me on his show, he has sexually harassed me on his show,” she said. “He has engaged in horrific sexually exploitative rhetoric.”
The producer pushed back, responding, “That’s not true.”
Ocasio Cortez immediately shot back. “It is true, because he accused me of wanting to sleep with Stephen Miller,” she said. “So why don’t you tell me what you think is acceptable to tell a woman?”
After that, she stormed away from the conversation.
Her comments were a direct reference to a segment from last year in which Watters said she “wants to sleep with Miller … it is so obvious.” The remark was controversial even inside Fox News. Watters’ own co host Greg Gutfeld distanced himself from the comment at the time and called it “creepy.”
The occasion also brought up more general criticism of Fox News. Over the years, the network has spent millions of dollars in fines and court settlements because of a lengthy history of accusations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Women who worked at the network filed such lawsuits against well-known personalities and executives, saying they had done wrong.
Stephen Miller is a top adviser and speechwriter for President Donald Trump. Watters mentioned him in his comment. He has become notorious for racist and xenophobic comments and has been accused of parroting Nazi propaganda in speeches written for Trump.
The fight made it plain that Ocasio Cortez does not feel the need to legitimize a platform that she feels has attacked her personally. Instead of arguing on the air, she chose to deal with the problem head-on and leave in public.