Watters was also behind several interviews at Cornell in 2015, accusing the school of liberal bias, and bringing staff political donations under scrutiny.
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The two combatants were Huffington Post Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim and Fox News’ Jesse Watters, known for his ambush journalism tactics.
Grim was apparently miffed at Watters for a 2009 ambush of his HuffPo colleague Amanda Terkel, who ended up writing about what it was like to be targeted by Watters’ brand of journalism.
“I approached him filming, asking him about his confrontation of @aterkel on vacation years ago”. This was Grim’s chance to turn the camera around on Watters. That was then what triggered the Fox News host to snap and not appreciate the action that he reportedly snatched Grim’s phone and instigated the situation.
Between Larry Wilmore ” s hard-hitting standup (“The president’s hair is so white it keeps saying “All Lives Matter'”) and President Obama’s unforgettable mic drop (“Obama out!”), the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was pretty lit.
Another witness told the Washington Post, “punches were definitely thrown”.
The spat started while DJ Biz Markie was entertaining the black tie crowd as they snacked on chili cheese fries, the Washington Post reported.
Watters grabbed the cellphone away from Grim and when he tried to get it back, a fight ensued and the two “flailed around a bit, upending a table and bumping into several people”.
A spokesperson from Fox News said “Jesse will address the issue tomorrow night on The O’Reilly Factor”. “Ambush guy can’t take getting ambushed”, he said.
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Watters couldn’t be reached for a reaction, but Grim sounded unrepentant.
