Rivera's attendance in a panel discussion has been canceled because his semi-naked selfie he posted in July is 'inappropriate and inconsistent' with the university's value.
- Sep 4, 2013
AceShowbiz - Geraldo Rivera is facing negative effect of semi-naked selfie he posted on Twitter in July. The Fox News personality has been axed from a panel discussion on the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination at Duquesne University, which will be held in October.
"Just heard Duquesne Univ canceled my appearance at JFK assassination panel because of 'selfie.' Fact I first aired Zapruder film less impt," he wrote on Twitter after learning of the news. He wrote again, "Duquesne's cancellation of my JFK panel appearance is pretentious censorship. Do students agree with administration? Am I banned for life?"
Rivera also told Politico that the cancellation was "incredibly rude." He said, "Are all prospective speakers similarly scrutinized, or is my sin receiving special attention? Does the 'selfie' over-weigh my Peabody, Emmys, RFK's and other professional achievements on Duquesne's scale of morality? Are the students of Duquesne so sensitive and protected that they will be unable to concentrate on the topic being discussed because they cannot unsee the image?"
Rivera, who in 1975 was the first person to air Abraham Zapruder's graphic footage of Kennedy's assassination, shared a picture of him half-naked with a white towel on his waist in July. "70 is the new 50," he tweeted at that time. Rivera later explained that he drank some Tequila before sharing the image.
A Duquesne University spokesperson explained in a statement that Rivera's act was "inappropriate and inconsistent" with the university's value. "The administration felt that Mr. Rivera's decision to post a nearly naked picture of himself on social media was inappropriate and inconsistent with who we are as a Catholic university," the spokesperson said.
