August 3, 2019

MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH

In a contentious interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper, self-help guru and presidential candidate Marianne Williamson apologized for once calling clinical depression “such a scam.” Cooper repeatedly challenged Williamson, confronting her with one of her Facebook entries that implied Robin Williams died from taking anti-depressants. Cooper informed her that the source for that assertion was the Church of Scientology.

Cooper appeared to have a personal interest in the impact of anti-depressants.

According to a MEDIAite email, Williamson walked back Anderson’s recounting of her statements and countered,:

"Well Anderson, I can say the same to you given how many pharmaceutical companies advertise on your show," Williamson shot back.

"I don't care," Cooper retorted. "What I care about is people who are dying and there's a stigma for people actually seeking medical help for something that could save their life — and you know, that has saved my life — and... when I read people saying, 'well, all of these drugs cause suicide,' well, that's not true."

An article in MEDIAite reported that “Cooper continued to press Williamson, bringing up her tweet suggesting — without evidence — that anti-depressants had something to do with Kate Spade’s suicide.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert in his post-debate monologue drew attention to Williamson’s past statements opposing vaccinations. According to an article in The Daily Beast::

But for those who did Google the candidate after Tuesday night’s debate, Colbert said they may have found some “interesting stuff” about her record, like that time she called nationally mandated vaccines “Orwellian.”

“Yeah, reminds me of George Orwell's last words,” the host added. “‘Hi, I’m George Orwell. I died of tuberculosis when I was 46, and I really wish there had been a vaccine for it.”  

Colbert also lampooned Williamson’s glibness about a cure for AIDS, according to the article:

Or there is the quote from one of Williamson’s books where she described AIDS as “Angels-in-Darth Vader-Suits” and told people with the disease to “imagine the AIDS virus as Darth Vader, then unzip his suit to allow an angel to emerge.”

“Here’s a pro tip for anybody out there seeking medical advice,” Colbert said in response. “This is not the cure you’re looking for.” 

In an interview with Ari Melber, Williamson appeared to back off her past controversial statements on clinical depression, anti-depressants and anti-vaccine positions.

Although she stood by her claim that Kate Spade committed suicide due to anti-depressants, although Williamson has no personal knowledge that this was the case.