Former Good Morning America anchor Janai Norman is making waves with her new web series by bluntly calling out her former employer and colleagues.
Norman, who hosted the weekend version of Good Morning America, has accused the network of being “complicit in upholding white supremacy” and biased in favor of law enforcement.
Norman’s contract with the network was not renewed in April, after 15 years with the network.
She has used her status as a free agent to critique how networks handle news and has not been afraid to take jabs at her former employer.
In a YouTube short critiquing an interview GMA’s Michael Strahan conducted with the parents of Black teen Nolan Wells, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances following a Fourth of July boating trip in Mississippi, Norman blasted Strahan’s handling of the 18-year-old’s grieving parents.
During the interview, Strahan asked them why their son would have chosen to stay behind on Horn Island after his friends had left.
“Bless Michael, ‘cause he had it right the first time,” Norman said.
“The question should have been, ‘Do you believe that?’ Not asking these grieving parents to defend a decision that we don’t even know for certain their deceased son made,” she said.
She then suggested the question was unprofessional.
“That was not an objective question,” Norman continued, highlighting a key principle of journalism. “Subjectively, I would say that it was insensitive.”
A spokeswoman for ABC News said Strahan was an “invaluable and highly respected member of the ABC News family.
“He is a trusted anchor and journalist, and we have complete confidence in his editorial judgment, integrity, and professionalism.”
Norman went on to accuse news networks more broadly of having a law enforcement bias.
“Many news organizations haven’t yet learned that they cannot always trust law enforcement as primary sources of credible information, and that is what plays into racial divisions,” Norman said.
She pointed to the “historical context of Mississippi—the state with the most recorded lynchings in history” and said news organizations had failed to properly interrogate those investigating Wells’ death.
“By ignoring that context, news organizations become complicit in upholding white supremacy and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, end up playing into racial divisions.”
In other shorts highlighting ABC’s coverage of the Wells case, Norman has also accused ABC of gaslighting the public, and said an online article blamed the victim.
“Why is this even a headline?” she asked of ABC News digital story that centered on accusations Wells had been drinking.
The Wells shorts were posted in late July, and the shorts filmed so far this month have not focused on ABC; instead, they highlight choices in political reporting on Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, and others.
But her critique of ABC isn’t limited to the handling of the Nolan Wells story. In a longer segment posted to her YouTube channel on August 9, Norman takes aim at ABC’s coverage of a court case involving Meta.
The segment targeted ‘World News Tonight with David Muir’ for its coverage of a New Mexico ruling ordering Meta to pay $567 million in penalties in a child-safety case.
Norman accused the network of pulling its punches, choosing not to use the judge’s strong words in the ruling against the company.
“By not using it, it almost protects Meta,” she says. “It softens how the story lands.”
Norman’s repeated attacks have reportedly “raised eyebrows at the network.”
Norman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
