Rick Sanchez is looking to make a comeback after being fired from CNN in October. Or, rather, his friends are making one for him. The eponymous website “Friends of Rick Sanchez” (tagline, “Get the whole story”) makes the case for Sanchez’s compassionate side, saying “Rick doesn’t hate. He doesn’t discriminate.”
Sanchez was fired after he being quoted on Peter Dominick’s radio show calling Jon Stewart a “bigot” and suggesting that Jews run CNN. Sanchez later apologized for the remarks.
So, to further clean up his image, Sanchez will appear next week with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach to have a “public dialogue.”
In a statement on “Friends of Rick Sanchez,” Sanchez said:
“My career path was changed because of a misconstrued comment, which very few actually even bothered to listen to. I have spent the last few months concentrating on my family, but instantly jumped at the opportunity for a public dialogue with my friend, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. I look forward to addressing any and all questions and concerns of the Jewish community”
Boteach is the author of more than a dozen books, including Kosher Sex, and he had a show on TLC called Shalom in the Home. Here’s his statement on “Friends of Rick Sanchez”:
Our community has enough problems without looking for anti-Semitism where it doesn’t exist. Rick Sanchez was humiliated and his reputation dragged through the mud without being allowed to explain himself. The Jewish religion says that a man’s most cherished possession is his good name. Rick deserves the opportunity to reclaim his. This evening will involve a conversation between the two of us that is intimate, honest, and hard-hitting. He and I share a love of family and community and I intend to honestly explore his values and his heart, and allow the community to decide.
Sanchez and Boteach will appear at the Carlebach shul on West 79th Street in New York City at 8 p.m. on January 13.
