Olbermann Apologizes To Melanie Lawson, News Anchor With Multiple Sclerosis Who Fell From Chair

[democracy1st]

Olbermann Apologizes To Melanie Lawson, Houston News Anchor With Multiple Sclerosis Who Fell From Chair (VIDEO)

Keith Olbermann apologized to Houston news anchor Melanie Lawson Wednesday night on "Countdown," just one day after airing an embarrassing clip that showed Lawson falling out of her chair during a live broadcast.

The reason for Olbermann's apology? It turns out that Lawson has multiple sclerosis, which might help to explain the incident. According to a mutual friend of both the MSNBC host and the anchor, Lawson has used a cane for years.

But it appears that MSNBC wasn't the only cable news network to air the video. Fox News' "Fox & Friends" also joked about the clip they called "Anchors Away" over the weekend

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/01/olbermann-apologizes-to-m_n_521223.html

[ecstatic]

1. Not sure which is worse

Laughing in the first place or turning her into a victim.

[pnwmom]

2. I don't think apologizing is turning her into a victim. It's a good reminder

that pratfall humor is humor at someone else's expense.

[Bluerthanblue]

3. word-

and kudo's to KO for his humility.

:hi:

[pnwmom]

7. Yes. And that was a real apology. n/t

[Warpy]

4. I didn't see her fall as particularly funny

but I did giggle with the Finnish anchor who followed because she had the good sense to laugh at herself.

[louis-t]

5. As did Melanie Lawson.

[MurrayDelph]

9. In the words of the 2000-year-old Man

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.

That said, I thought it was a classy thing of KO to explain and apologize.

[Zen Democrat]

6. Just an FYI. Melanie is the daughter of Rev. Bill Lawson, a civil rights leader

in Houston and (former) pastor of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, who marched with Dr. King back in the day. They are a prominent African-American family in the city.

[merci_me]

8. Melanie Lawson has a fantastic sense of humor

and would be the first to laugh at herself and not be offended when others laughed WITH her. She's been a casual friend of my son's for many years. He first met her, when as a college student (she was already a news anchor) she and friends would frequent the Comedy Workshop, where he did some stand-up. They use to stay late and trade stories with the comics who came through. That was many years ago, but when she sees him, she always remembers him. I see her from time to time (she doesn't know me) and she always has a ready smile and a great laugh. She is not a victim, she's a victor and it shows!

[MurrayDelph]

10. and that's how KO played it

when he apologized for being couthless.

[theoldman]

11. MS normally affects the legs so it probably did not cause her to fall from a chair.

My neighbors wife had MS and she was OK as long as she was sitting. MS is a slow death disease.