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Saturday, Aug. 18, 2001 3:34 p.m. EDT
Jackson Mistress Explodes Over 'Political Stalker' Charge
In a surprise phone call to CNN's "Talk Back Live" just hours before ABC broadcast its own exclusive interview with her, the mother of the Rev. Jesse Jackson's love child angrily upbraided two leading members of the black media, Tavis Smiley and Tom Joyner, for alleging that she was a "political stalker."
Smiley, formerly with the Black Entertainment Network, was subbing on CNN for regular "Talk Back" host Bobbie Batista. Also on hand for the stunning call from Jackson's ex-mistress were NewsMax.com contributors Mike Gallagher and Barry Farber, both of whom have their own nationally syndicated radio shows.
"The other day on your radio program, the issue was raised - we raised it, as a matter of fact - the issue of political stalking," Smiley told Joyner.
"The idea came up that every time Jesse Jackson tries to do something [like his recent Toyota boycott] ... that every time Jesse Jackson tries to step up and do something to put this behind him, the mother of this child appears somewhere else, she shows up somewhere else. Tonight she is on '20/20.'"
Smiley then asked Joyner point-blank, "Do you think there's any credence to this notion that Jesse Jackson is being politically stalked either by the media or by the mother in this case?"
"I think he is stalked by both," the Washington, D.C., radio host replied. "And I think it is pretty evident that he is. And it is a shame that the child is being used, is being exploited to somebody, for somebody, for someone else's agenda, be it the mother or be it the media. But this child is being exploited."
Moments later, Karin Stanford, Jackson's one-time mistress and mother of the couple's 2-year-old out-of-wedlock daughter Ashley, was on the phone to CNN, denouncing the two hosts over what she said was their unfair attack.
"I'm very disappointed in [your] reporting," an angry but controlled Stanford told Smiley. "Just the conversation and dialogue that went between you and Tom Joyner was very disappointing to me."
The seething ex-Jackson paramour told Smiley and Joyner there was no truth to the stalking charge.
"I'm not a political stalker. I feel like I have every right, and actually an obligation, to talk about what has happened to me and my daughter since our - my personal relationship with Reverend Jesse Jackson became public."
Stanford argued that she had to go public in order to set the record straight and to protect her daughter's interests.
"[The tabloids] have printed horrible stories about me, and I think for my daughter's sake that it's important that I tell people that those stories are not true."
Before Stanford called in, Smiley recounted his own conversation with Jackson, moments before airtime, who complained to him that his ex-lover was violating their daughter's privacy by showing her photo on TV.
But Stanford bristled over the suggestion that she should keep her daughter in hiding - and hit back with what sounded like a none-too-subtle dig directed at Jackson.
"I'm very proud of my daughter. I don't feel like she has to be hidden from public. I think that she might be an embarrassment to some people, and so they just don't want her shown. ... I'm very, very proud of her. I don't feel like showing her face on TV is exploiting her."
Stanford explained that, while Jackson has made verbal promises to care financially for their daughter, including paying for her college education, he refuses to formalize the arrangement in writing.
"I get verbal commitments all the time. But I can't get anything in writing that makes sense. ... Every time something was put on the table it was attached to a confidentiality agreement, which I refuse to sign."
"I don't ever want to be in a position about being able to defend myself or my daughter. I wouldn't be able to talk to you if I had signed that agreement," she added.
The former Rainbow/PUSH staffer also complained that the African-American media has deliberately ignored her side of the story.
"Not one African-American media organization reached out to me to ask me a question," Stanford said.
"What you guys seem to do is print Reverend Jackson's statements, his perspective, without asking me. Most of the other news organizations would at least try to get two sides to a story before they go on the national TV and start calling me a stalker, because I'm just not that."
When Smiley asked why she picked ABC's Connie Chung instead of an African-American reporter to tell her story, Stanford shot back:
"She happened to call me. She happened to sit down with me, she came to visit, and she said, here are the things I want to know. ... None of you have ever called me. That's why I gave the interview to her."
After Stanford ended her call, NewsMax.com's Gallagher told the "Talk Back" audience that she had out-debated the two Jackson defenders, and cautioned Smiley, "You're on the wrong side of this issue, Tavis."
"The real issue in the Jesse Jackson argument is not the photographing of a 2-year-old child," added Farber. "It's a moral forfeiture of a towering African-American political figure." |
