*The Rev. Al Sharpton has never been a stranger to anyone with a beef against him.
Or in this case, a publication with a beef against Sharpton as the New York Post devoted a recent front page to the MSNBC host with allusions to Sharpton being paid to keep quiet about shady activities from corporations.
“Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your corporate image? Not be labeled a racist? Then you need to pay Al Sharpton,” the story, written by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein, said.
“For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations and consulting fees to Sharpton’s National Action Network. What they get in return is the reverend’ supposed sway in the black community or, more often, his silence. . .”
In response to the article, Sharpton pointed out on the National Action Network website that, “What is interesting is that the exact same story was done by the exact same New York Post writer on June 15, 2008 and was widely discredited. . . .”
The Post may not be the only publication Sharpton has to worry about. A story by Luke Mullins for the Washingtonian magazine hints that the creation of Sharpton’s MSNBC show “PoliticsNation” was part of a plan for Comcast’s takeover of NBC upon winning federal approval.
“In 2009 and 2010, Comcast gave $155,000 to an organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who ended up endorsing the merger,” Mullins wrote in the magazine’s January issue. “The campaign paid off. In January 2011, Washington approved the deal. . . .”