Anderson Cooper was clearly fired up over Dr. Laura's claim that CNN had helped force her off the radio after her infamous use of the n-word to a caller, because he added her to his "RidicuList" and told her to "stop whining."
Dr. Laura made the claim in an interview with Matt Lauer on the "Today" show Tuesday. She said CNN had had a "field day" for 48 hours after she used the n-word 11 times while talking to a black caller, all without getting her side of the story.
"I am kind of getting tired of people in the public eye acting like they are victims," Cooper said on Tuesday night. "And that sure seems to be what Dr. Laura Schlessinger is doing."
First, he said, CNN's coverage had hardly been wall to wall. "I know Dr. Laura believes she's incredibly important, but there was also flooding in Pakistan," he said. "The controversy over the Ground Zero mosque was heating up. A suspected serial killer was arrested, as well as other stories, all covered by CNN during those 48 hours."
Cooper then showed that his program had indeed tried to get in touch with Dr. Laura, but she had turned him down--refuting her charge that nobody from the network had tried to reach her.
"We all know how the publicity business works," he concluded. "But you don't need to make stuff up. It just makes you look bad. We asked for your side of the story, and now we are politely asking you to take responsibility for the mess that you made. Take your own advice and stop whining."