Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Former CNN Panelist Invokes Cancel Culture, Racism To Defend Himself Against Alleged Flirty Texts To Nancy Mace

Screenshot/Grabien/ABC

Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson invoked cancel culture and racism on Tuesday to defend himself against Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s accusations that he sent her flirty text messages.

Mace alleged Thursday that Dyson sent her text messages commenting on her “gorgeousness,” begged him for photos of herself and sent her a kissy face emoji following an argument they had over how to pronounce Vice President Kamala Harris’ name during an Aug. 15 CNN segment. The professor said on “The View” that Mace entered the alleged messages into Congress’ record due to the “toxic culture” in modern politics.

“What you could say 20 years ago, you can’t say today. Not because you’re suddenly wrong, but the temper of the times have changed. So, if you acknowledge a woman’s beauty that adds a power imbalance, there’s a problem there. But peer to peer, a different story … And thirdly, let’s look at the politics, we’re living in a toxic culture where there’s a cancel culture gotcha. We’re not trying to elevate, we’re trying to eviscerate.”

Dyson said Mace is depending on a “racist trope” to accuse him of coming for her in a sexual manner.

“So when it comes to Nancy Mace, you see I tried to be nice to the woman. I said ‘you’re a wonderful woman,’ I lied,” Dyson said. “But I tried to be nice to her. And even when I pointed out to her what the repetition of the misnaming of Kamala Harris would do, she got defensive, ‘oh, you’re calling me a racist.’ No, I never did … The point is that this woman has now depended upon, like her inspiration Donald Trump, a racist trope. The black brute seeks the innocent white woman and now I’m seeking lasciviously to approach her.”

The professor, who is also a pastor, further claimed that white Christians still feel guilty about the wrongs done to racial minorities in the past. He called on them to “grapple” with the brutal past and forgive themselves.

Dyson got into a heated exchange with Mace as he accused her of disregarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ humanity by mispronouncing her name during an Aug. 15 CNN panel. During the CNN segment, the South Carolina congresswoman said she will pronounce Harris’ name in any way she prefers, and called Dyson’s criticisms of her mispronunciations “BS.”

“Now let me just say this, because this congresswoman is a wonderful human being, but when you disrespect Kamala Harris by saying you will call her anything you want, I know you don’t intend it to be that way. That’s the history and legacy of white disregard for the humanity of black people,” Dyson said.

“Oh, so now you’re calling me racist? … That is BS. That is complete BS,” Mace shot back.