Even though he blocked me on X, I still appreciate Jim Cornette’s insightful, amusing and often thought-provoking commentary. In my opinion, X (previously known as Twitter) has always been a cerebral cesspool populated by mostly by whiny keyboard warrior shut-ins so my feelings aren’t hurt that much by the ban. I may not agree with every opinion Cornette has but he is still a good listen.
Unless his archaic mentality makes a great leap from 1951 to 2024 though, Cornette and I will definitely never, ever be on the same page when it comes to women’s wrestling or women in general. When it comes to those topics he is as shamefully outdated as an 8-track tape player.
His recent video “Jim Cornette on The Athletic’s Article About Lee Fitting’s Removal From ESPN” is proof that his view of the world never evolved beyond the time of poodle skirts, soda shops and sock hops.
For those who haven’t been following the news Lee Fitting is a former production big wig who left ESPN under a shadow of controversy and allegations so naturally the WWE hired him as its Head of Production. ESPN kicked Fitting to the curb not only because he was a part of the Emmy Awards fraud scheme but because of the accusations multiple women brought forward over the years and an internal investigation that was conducted into them. Those accusations range from making unprofessional and inappropriate comments in the workplace to quipping about hotel “bed checks” outside of work.
Here is a list of the accusations from The Athletic article gathered from 20 women they interviewed. Through a spokesperson Fitting has “denied some of the allegations made against him while choosing not to address others. He declined to comment on the broader characterization of him as someone who mistreated women during his tenure at ESPN or why he was let go by the network.”
- In a production meeting around 2014, no chairs were available for a woman on staff. Fitting patted his lap and said to her: “I’ve got a seat right here for you,” according to one person in the room and another person who was told about the remark from another individual present.
- An ESPN employee said that Fitting sent her a text message around 2018 that read: “You look hot.” She showed the text to a producer, who recalled the woman’s hand shaking as she showed the producer the message.
- On more than one occasion, he jokingly asked a female staffer for her hotel room number and also routinely joked about performing bed checks, according to College GameDay employees.
- When he saw a woman in an outfit he liked, he’d let her know, sometimes in ways women and other employees found crude and/or humiliating. He once loudly exclaimed “Goddamn!” when a woman appeared on set in a skirt he liked.
- When one female employee left the show, Fitting dismissed her as “no fun” in front of a group of employees, according to one person present. Some women who appeared on-camera were told by Fitting how to style their hair, how much makeup to wear, what outfits he approved of or did not like. He sometimes referenced aspects of their body that he advised them to conceal.
- One woman said that one day, when she and Fitting were working in different locations, he had seen her on an in-house feed and texted her that he liked her hair in a ponytail. She brushed off the comment, but he texted again: “Put your hair up in a ponytail.” The woman replied that she had already been in hair and makeup for the day, to which she said Fitting responded: “Put your hair up in a ponytail before I do it for you.”
- In the production truck, he would direct people to scan the crowd for “hot” women who could be shown on the broadcast, according to multiple people who worked with him.
- Another ESPN employee said she asked to meet with Fitting to discuss career opportunities on three occasions. Each time he asked her to meet with him for drinks, she said. She declined, as she said other women at ESPN told her not to meet with Fitting alone outside of work. Said another female staffer: “Women had warned each other to be conscious of interactions with him.”
- Even if one of these accusations is true from the 20 women that The Athletic spoke to that in my mind is grounds for a final warning or perhaps a firing, depending upon which incident we are talking about.
Now, I don’t support political correctness. Not only does it handcuff freedom of expression but what is even more insidious about the movement is that at its core it is an attempt to control not only what you say but how you think. I don’t believe certain South Park episodes should be banned in the USA. I don’t believe in trigger warnings for adults or participation trophies for them either.
What I do believe in, though, is treating people with respect and dignity.
If a trans individual wishes to be referred to as “they” in the article I am writing, I will not only honor their request but support it as well as I believe in their individuality and individuality has come under attack in the last 15 or 20 years especially in America and collectivist-minded Millennials but I digress…
Respect is a cornerstone of not just any society but any workplace. Nobody should ever be treated in an unprofessional manner, made to feel belittled or uncomfortable. Yes, there are certain jokes that are fine in the company of friends and family but those jokes are not appropriate at work. I readily admit I at times can rattle off swear words like a machine gun in my day-to-day speech, however, when it comes to a place of work, a house of worship, etc., I tone it down and act differently. It isn’t a difficult or hard thing to do. I am an adult after all.
It is like Grandpa Powell used to say: There is a time and a place for everything … and cracking a joke about two old ladies sitting on a park bench when a man in a trench coat comes up and flashes them … is not meant for the workplace. Anyone with a functioning adult brain that has matured beyond fraternity or sorority life knows this but here are some of Cornette’s cringe-worthy and just plain brain dead responses, reactions in his video.
He first mocked ESPN employees reporting his behaviour to Human Resources. One wonders what steps he expects anyone to take if they felt they are being treated in an unprofessional way? What other recourse do they have besides quitting, which some of the women in the Fitting case claim to have done, felt they had no other choice.
About Fitting being accused of commenting on an employee’s sexual prowess after seeing her chug a beer, Cornette said: “God damn! Someone should put this guy in f—-g prison.” When co-host Brian Last commented that comment might make someone uncomfortable, Cornette responded with this absolute stupidity: “Well, they should leave the f—–g room because THIS guy was the boss!… Again, BIG s—t!” he said.
I ask you to stop, pause and let that response sink in for a very long minute.
Cornette is not only saying the women are the ones with the problem but a boss has the right to act that way, treat people that way, create such an environment, simply because they are the boss. That standard is acceptable and professional. Maybe he doesn’t belong in prison, Jim, but those kind of comments are for the frat house not in the conference room of a multi-million dollar company and not by the person in charge who sets the standard for ethical, professional behavior and has the power to hire and fire people.
When it came to the “no chairs” incident Cornette said he only had a problem with the situation if the women wasn’t brought a chair or made to stand.
“What the f—k? He is just jacking around,” said Cornette claiming the issue didn’t deserve to be covered by the media.
So, in Cornette’s mind it is okay to humiliate a woman in front of other employees?
Then, to compound things, he uses the Relative Privation Fallacy argument. He said there were more tragic things in the world than what happened to her. Sorry, Jim, we as a society can address bigger problems and smaller ones simultaneously. Bigger problems don’t negate the validity of smaller issues and all you are doing is trivializing a problem which might not be an issue for you but might be important to someone else.
Of Fitting supposedly texting a fellow female employee saying she looked “hot”, Jim replied: “Okay, maybe she did.” He of course is not only totally disregarding the fact that she is being disrespected but what if she had a partner or a spouse?
Last commented that Cornette was leaving out the fact that the boss was the one texting the female employee and that is an abuse of power. Cornette mocked the woman for being physically upset by the comment.
Cornette thought it was also fine that Fitting supposedly bragged about his sex life with his wife in the workplace.
After addressing the litany of complaints by 20 women, Cornette tried to use the Relative Privation Fallacy argument to make light of, downplay these accusations saying: “There are no assaults, false imprisonments, there is no inappropriate contact…”
Worst of all, in conclusion, Cornette attributed Fittings’ alleged unprofessional behavior to him having a “fireball personality” as if that is an excuse for the litany of things he is accused of. It is an excuse and a very poor one as if an adult has no control over what they say or what they do.
It is curious to note that Cornette himself was accused of misconduct in Ohio Valley Wrestling during the Speaking Out movement. Back in 2020, independent wrestler Phil Earley accused Cornette of forcing trainees to engage in sexual intercourse with his wife.
Cornette completely denied those accusations saying: “I have never offered any wrestler, male or female, preferential treatment, a job, a contract, a push, or anything else related to their employment or threatened the opposite if they would or would not engage in relations with me or my wife. No ‘quid pro quo’, ‘no tit for tat’, as they say… No female wrestler that I ever worked with in Ohio Valley Wrestling, or anywhere else to my recollection, has ever said that I talked to them or treated them improperly, except when critiquing their matches or performance of same, but treated them improperly or with any personal or language or actions of that description.”
As far as Fitting’s accusations or anything else for that matter, Cornette has the right to say what he likes. I am not disputing that, in his case or anyone else’s. I don’t think he should be “cancelled,” or banned from X and YouTube. My generation, Generation X, believes in combating idiocy in all forms with debate and discussion, shining a spotlight on it, not sweeping it under the carpet but as a public figure what he says is open to fair criticism and review.
It is clear that Cornette views women as lesser beings in the workplace and society as a whole. They should just take the abuse, the rude remarks, the demeaning treatment with a smile simply because of nothing more than who they are and because he doesn’t think the problems are important. I am sure if it was his daughter, his wife, were the victims or if it was a Republican who was the perpetrator, he would be offended and outraged.
This is just another why the right and the left are chock full of hypocrites, folks, and why being respectful of others is apolitical, just being a decent human being.
None of this will do anything to lift Cornette’s X ban but then again perhaps that is for the best if he repeats any of the nonsense found in that dim-witted episode as there is only so many really boldly antiquated, regressive viewpoints I can stand and stomach.
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