CNN just ditched another contributor to its cable news network and the reasons could again relate to President Donald Trump. First, it was Kathy Griffin with the bloodied Trump head incident and now it is likely Reza Aslan lost his "Believer with Reza Aslan" spot over an angry tweet he sent shortly after the brutal attacks in London. Aslan is a religious scholar and in the series, he explores religion and faith in the world.
No reason was cited for axing ‘Believer with Reza Aslan’
While the CNN statement didn’t give a reason for axing season two of “Believer with Reza Aslan,” the announcement comes shortly after Aslan tweeted an insulting message relating to President Trump. While they didn’t cite a reason for axing the show, the CNN spokesperson did wish Reza and his production team everything of the best.
Aslan angry with Trump over insensitive tweet following London attacks
While Aslan has since deleted the tweet, which he sent on June 3, he was reportedly angry at the time over Trump’s tweet following the London attacks where the U.S.
president again pushed his travel ban. According to Deadline Hollywood, Aslan referred to Trump as a “piece of s**t” who was not only an embarrassment to the country and a stain on the U.S. presidency but also an “embarrassment to humankind.”
Apologies from Aslan from losing ‘his cool’
The next day, Aslan shared a statement to Twitter where he apologized for his poor choice of words. He explained that he became angry when, immediately after the attack in London, Trump tweeted about his travel ban. Aslan said he “lost his cool” and that it is not like him. He admitted he should have used different language to express his frustration and shock at Trump’s lack of sympathy and decorum in the incident.
CNN issued a statement after this message, to ensure the public understood that Aslan is not an employee of the cable network, but did host a series on their network. The statement added that CNN is pleased to hear that Aslan has apologized, adding that kind of action is never appropriate.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, on Friday Aslan released another statement in connection with the cancellation of his series, where he did imply that the non-renewal of “Believer” was connected to his critical tweet about Trump. That statement is included here.
Just last week, comedian Kathy Griffin was removed from CNN’s New Year’s Eve lineup, over the photo of Griffin holding what looked like Trump’s decapitated and blood-soaked head.