Monday night, CNN’s Anderson Cooper nailed the interview of the year when he sat with racist Clippers owner Donald Sterling for an intimate one on one. What followed was a journalists’ dream and every publicist’s nightmare. In the one hour talk, Anderson, who excellently questioned Sterling on everything, directly asked if Sterling had been intimate with Stiviano. “What’s intimate?” Sterling answered, twisting his face up before adding. “I don’t think men should discuss particulars [about] a woman.”
After deflecting the questioning he said, “I don’t wanna talk about her. I wanna talk about me.”
Sterling then began recounting the recorded conversation with Stiviano. Repeatedly saying, “I’m not racist.” Claiming he didn’t know it was being taped. Saying he doesn’t know why he spoke the infamous statements aired on tape. “I think you have more of a plantation mentality than I do,” he said to Anderson, who stared back in awe. “I think you're more of a racist than I am.”
But when questioning turned to Magic Johnson, the conversation grew acidic with the same disgust heard on Sterling’s recorded tapes in his moments of chastising Stiviano for bringing black people to his games.
When Cooper asked about Magic, the response was a jaw dropper, beginning with Sterling saying that Magic had called him after the tape went public saying, “Wait and be patient and I’ll help you out,” Sterling claims Magic told him. “I think he wanted me to do nothing so he can buy the team.”
Alluding to believing that Magic leaked a record conversation to Radar Online, Sterling’s continued words and literal hate toward Magic’s health and reputation were the most disturbing.
“What could I say to him? It doesn’t matter. I’m hurt. But it doesn’t matter. Here is a man he acts so holy. He made love to every girl in the city in America and he had AIDS…. Is he an example for children? What has he done? Big business person… Who has AIDS. What kind of a guy goes to every city and has sex with every girl and catches AIDS? Is that someone we should respect? He should be ashamed and go into the background. What does he do for the black people? He doesn’t do anything. He does nothing. It’s all talk.”
Continuing his surreal comments, Sterling compared Magic’s work in the community to that of Jews, saying the Jewish community does more for black people than Magic or any other African American. “Some of the African Americans they don’t help anybody… What has he done for any hospital,” Sterling said. “For any group? I don’t know.”
Between claiming the Clippers team isn’t mad at him, to ending the interview crying over V. Stiviano’s backstabbing, Donald Sterling showed signs of not having dementia (as his wife claims he may have), but of epitomizing the pure definition of what racism truly is in its most simplistic form: Ignorance.
Magic Johnson makes an appearance on Anderson Cooper, Tuesday, at 8pm. The drama continues…
