Key points
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are denying rumors that they’re boycotting CNN.
Conservative pundit Scott Jennings debated the couple’s son, Dylan Douglas, on NewsNight last month.
Jennings told Meghan McCain that he “dismantled” Dylan’s talking points and added, “I kind of feel bad for him.”
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones have no beef with CNN.
The married Traffic costars are responding to rumors that they were upset with the news network after their son, Dylan Douglas, debated conservative pundit Scott Jennings on NewsNight last month.
“The rumor that Catherine and Michael are boycotting CNN is news to them,” a representative for the actors tells Entertainment Weekly. “They support accurate reporting, which this rumor isn’t.”
The rumor dates back to Saturday, when gossip columnist Rob Shuter claimed on Substack that Dylan’s famous parents were “fuming” at CNN: “full-on, ‘never again, blacklist the whole network’ levels of furious”.
Paul Morigi/Getty; Arnold Jerocki/Getty
Scott Jennings; Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas
Meghan McCain then asked Jennings to respond to the rumor when he appeared as a guest on her podcast Citizen McCain on Monday. “Well, I was surprised,” he said of the couple supposedly blacklisting CNN. “I’m more than willing to apologize personally to Catherine Zeta-Jones over a nice seafood dinner if she wants to do it.”
Jennings, who previously worked for President George W. Bush and has been closely associated with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appeared on NewsNight to discuss the government shutdown alongside Dylan Douglas, who hosts the weekly SiriusXM show Young Americans. Conservative social media users believed that Jennings handily won the debate.
On McCain’s podcast, Jennings said the younger Douglas was “really nice” when the cameras weren’t rolling. “I think he was honored to be there,” he added. “We had what is relatively a normal kind of exchange. He made his Democratic talking points. I dismantled them. This is not an uncommon thing that happens on CNN. I was as surprised as you are to see that his parents were upset about it.”
The conservative pundit said he believed Dylan’s parents were not helping the public perception of the debate. “I kind of feel bad for him in that his parents are out complaining about it,” he said in response to the unsubstantiated rumor. “I never saw Dylan complaining about it. But now in the gossip rags, his parents are out complaining about it. I don’t know. To me, I think Dylan was probably okay with how everything went, but when your parents jump out there in the public domain and complain on your behalf, it makes you look pretty weak.”
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Jennings speculated that Dylan is among a group of liberals who have lived in “a very tight little bubble” for their entire lives. “They never really talk to Republicans or conservatives,” he opined. “They don’t really get outside of their bubble where everyone’s telling them how smart and good looking they are. And then they wind up on television with someone of a different persuasion. And it is surprising to them. And so I hope Dylan comes back. I’m sure he’ll get better at it.”
Michael Loccisano/Getty
Carys Zeta Douglas, Michael Douglas, and Dylan Michael Douglas
In response to Jennings’ comments on McCain’s podcast, Dylan Douglas offered a statement to EW.
“I was Surprised and slightly flattered, that Scott Jennings still cared so much about our conversation three weeks after it happened,” he wrote. “I heard so many nasty things about the guy before going on the show, but in person found him to be very pleasant. The fact that almost a month later, he’s attacking me on who my parents are, rather than the differences we have politically, is disappointing. I understand he just released a book, maybe this is part of his promotional effort? Regardless I wish him and his book well.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly