Rachel Marsden: Fox's Ann Coulter 2.0 (and she's a bona fide stalker, too!)

[NYCGirl]

This one's a piece of work.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/29/marsden/index.html

"Maybe should focus less on cricket and a little more on hygiene," opined Rachel Marsden on a recent episode of Fox News' middle-of-the-night talk oddity "Red Eye." Marsden was adding her two cents to a discussion of murdered Pakistani cricket coach Bob Woolmer, and seemed unaware that she had said anything offensive. But her co-hosts, Greg Gutfeld and Bill Schulz, looked appropriately aghast; Gutfeld was quick to assure viewers that "Red Eye," the Fox-for-frat-boys show he's been hosting with gross-out gusto since Feb. 6, did not endorse Marsden's views on Pakistani hygiene.

Her colleagues may have been momentarily tortured by Marsden's loose tongue, but whether they knew it or not, they had been sticking it to her just the night before, when they brought up the Duke rape case. Gutfeld had asked what should happen to the accuser if all charges are finally dropped, and Marsden had jumped in with unusual speed, pooh-poohing possible repercussions for the woman who claimed she was raped by members of the Duke University lacrosse team a year ago. "Charges are laid, charges are dropped," said Marsden. "It happens all the time. Unless she can get charged with mischief and they can prove she lied, then no, . That's the process and the process works." But, argued Gutfeld, "Don't you think that being accused of rape is as bad as being raped? Those guys' lives were ruined!" Marsden bit back, "Let's give it 10 years and see if their lives were ruined."

It was all business as usual at "Red Eye," Fox's bawdy gabfest of a grab at a youthful audience, starring Gutfeld, comic foil Bill Schulz, and Marsden, a statuesque Canadian who dissects the news with as much Coulter-esque zeal as she can muster while rolling her eyes at her male counterparts. But in the Duke exchange, any viewer who knew anything about Marsden, whom Fox is clearly grooming for brand-name pundit stardom, might have felt a fleeting moment of sympathy for her. That's because the 31-year-old columnist is already well known in her native Canada as an oft-accused and once-admitted stalker who made questionable rape charges of her own 10 years ago, in a case that eventually cut short the career of a university president and changed the tenor of harassment cases all over Canada. In 1999, a professor at the same university went to the police with charges Marsden was stalking him, and in 2004 she pleaded guilty to criminally harassing a former Vancouver radio host.

Should executives at Fox News have hired Marsden as a nightly contributor to "Red Eye," on which panelists chew over topics like sexual harassment, without disclosing how her history might color her views? In their yen for young male viewers, and their desire for a righty riposte to "The Daily Show," is it possible they prized Marsden's looks so much that they believed no one else would ever get past them? Did they think they could groom her to be an incendiary attention-getting conserva-babe of Coulter-esque proportions, when getting that coveted attention would guarantee the revelation of her Fox-unfriendly past? Or perhaps it was her scandal-laced life that made her enough of a celebrity to secure her a nightly perch in the first place.

[tularetom]

1. BTW, whatever happened to the fox fake daily show?

There was a big splash a few weeks ago. The show debuted with coulter and limpballs amid much fanfare. Most people said it sucked. Wingnuts thought it was high-larious. I haven't heard anything about it for a couple of weeks. Is it still on or did they mercifully pull the plug? Is Red Eye a substitute for it?

[NYCGirl]

3. I'd read on TV Newser that they were going to pick up the series (for a weekly

slot), but haven't heard any more about it.

[underpants]

2. Her website

http://www.rachelmarsden.com/

[AllieB]

4. Keith Olbermann just mentioned her

what a piece of work!

[3waygeek]

5. Not just mentioned...

she headlined the Oddball segment.

[NYCGirl]

9. Can't wait to see the replay — I TiVoed "Survivor" in the 8pm slot. It's my

guilty pleasure!

[BlooInBloo]

6. Ah - good to see that Canadians CAN produce jackasses.

[Spazito]

7. Oh yeah, she is certifiable!

She sure as hell can't find any credible work in Canada so it figures Faux would be the one to hire her. The stalking case was BIG news in Canada when it happened, she really is nuts.

Here's an article about her "activities":

http://www.thenownews.com/issues02/114102/news/114102nn1.html

snip

But in 1997, Marsden, 26, made headlines when she accused Donnelly of sexually harassing her.

Donnelly, who grew up in Port Moody, was fired over the accusations and later reinstated by the university after he went public saying she was the one who had harassed him and had sent him erotic photos of herself.

This week, Marsden was arrested on a charge of criminal harassment by Vancouver Police after a 52-year-old Vancouver man complained of being harassed by phone and e-mail.

snip

A Vancouver police spokesperson alleged that Marsden began making threatening phone calls and e-mails to the man between Oct. 7 and Nov. 12 of this year.

more

http://www.thenownews.com/issues02/114102/news/114102nn1.html


I can't think of a more fitting employee for Faux than Rachel, she is perfect for them.

[blondeatlast]

8. Yeesh--FAUX seems a perfect fit somehow--LITERALLY vertifiable.

Marsden had been taken into custody and investigators asked for several bail conditions, including prohibiting Marsden from having any contact with the media. They also want to ensure that Marsden has no contact with the man who made the accusation.

Crown counsel has requested an evaluation of her mental state.