Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum on Friday wondered what “unapologetic anti-Semite” Louis Farrakhan was “doing up there” in such a prominent position at Aretha Franklin’s funeral.
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“The guests ranging from world leaders to musical legends and one especially controversial figure seated in the front row,” MacCallum said. “Many people kind of wondering what the unapologetic anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan was doing up there.” (RELATED: Anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan Spotted In The Front Row At Aretha Franklin Funeral)
The Fox News host told her panel that, despite the “amazing” performances of stars like Jennifer Hudson and Gladys Knight, she was “distracted by Louis Farrakhan who was in every single shot.”
“What was he doing there?” she asked the panel.
Liberal economist Kylie Patterson acknowledged the “mixed” history of Farrakhan but also noted both Franklin’s and Farrakhan’s involvement in the “liberation movement.”
“This is her funeral,” Patterson said. “I mean, it’s her choice, who she wants there, how she wants people sitting.”
“I just wonder how much jockeying there was for prime position,” MacCallum asked. “I saw that he was kind of pushing his website and all of this on Twitter. And I thought, ‘Gee, that’s kind of a little bit unfortunate’ that it was distracting in that way. He, you know, has said awful things about Jewish people, about white people, about gay people and I thought it was never the message that I heard in Aretha Franklin’s music.”