# Dumbest People on TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936 "2009-01-25T17:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/21 "2009-01-25T23:26:38Z")
She’s not claiming to be a medical practitioner, is she? If not, she’s not a quack, she’s a shill. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/22 "2009-01-25T23:49:24Z")
You are right she is a shill. Also, her name is spelled “somers”. The only thing she has right about maintaining health is cash. People with lots of cash, are comparatively healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/23 "2009-01-25T23:52:55Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The moment that really marks King as a complete idiot for me happened some years back. Remember when some little kid disappeared, and they found his body in a cabin where a pedophile kept an older boy he had kidnapped years before? > > Okay, so there was this “psychic” woman who had made predictions about the murderer on her show to the grieving parents. She saw the kidnapper as a very tall man of dark complexion but not completely black, probably hispanic, with long black hair possibly with dreadlocks. > > The “Psychic” goes to Larry King Lie and there she is confronted with James Randi. > LARRY KING (To James Randi): She did describe the accused villain pretty well. > JAMES RANDI: … (Long pause with incredulous stare) She described the accused villain as having dreadlocks, long hair … > LARRY KING (pointing at his head): Didn’t he have long, black hair… > JAMES RANDI: No, he did not. He was very fat and not a tall, tall as she had described. > (Picture of a pudgy, pale white man with medium short brownish hair.) > LARRY KING: I would call that long based on my own hair, but… [YouTube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzkgskUkOlE) It was the Shawn Hornbeck case. The above excerpt starts at about 2:45 and Randi’s expressions are priceless there and when the other psychic is talking about professionalism among “seers” and why she won’t take his million dollar challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/24 "2009-01-26T00:42:24Z")
Carson Daly, then again he’s probably more inept than dumb. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/25 "2009-01-26T00:48:35Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Was she the one who thought the earth was flat? Oh but it did not matter because she had to feed her kid. That explanation is all you need to know. She thought the ancient Greeks came after Jesus because that was the beginning of civilization. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/26 "2009-01-26T00:51:36Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > Best Larry King clip ever: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfUgVSfKdQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfUgVSfKdQ) > > I don’t have sound on this computer and I forget what exactly is said. But he implies that Seinfeld was canceled. Jerry takes him to task. Oh man, that is Gold. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/27 "2009-01-26T02:58:13Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Larry King believes in “The Secret”, pyschics, UFOs, and almost every other fringe thought there is. If that’s the case, he’s made a complete 180 from when he doing his late-night radio show. I recall he used to be quite the agnostic on things religious and paranormal. As for King being dumb, I disagree. I just think he’s mentally been on auto-pilot for years. He’s nowhere near as interested in his guests or subjects as he was on radio. Of course, that was awhile ago. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/28 "2009-01-26T03:26:36Z")
Chuck Todd on CNN asked recently if President Obama would veto any stimulus package that passed Congress without Republican support. [http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/01/23/chuck-todd-is-getting-stupider/](http://campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/01/23/chuck-todd-is-getting-stupider/) ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/29 "2009-01-26T05:00:45Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > Best Larry King clip ever: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfUgVSfKdQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfUgVSfKdQ) > > I don’t have sound on this computer and I forget what exactly is said. But he implies that Seinfeld was canceled. Jerry takes him to task. Horsecrap. I’ll admit I didn’t watch the clip to the end, because Jerry was annoying me, but Larry King very plainly said “and they didn’t cancel you, you canceled them.” It wasn’t any mistake – King was throwing Jerry a softball, as he always does. Instead of letting it go by or taking a swing at it, the usual options, Jerry stuck his head in front of the pitch and then rushed the mound. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/30 "2009-01-26T05:07:07Z")
> [@drm](#): > > Granted, I’ve only seen the show a couple times, but the older one who isn’t Barbara Walters isn’t a complete idiot… Are you referring to Meredith Veira, the one who left and now hosts the daytime version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”? Or Joy Behar, who interestingly enough is subbing for or has something to do with recent Larry King shows? Or Whoopi Goldberg? I kinda agree with you if you’re referring to the first two, but not if you’re talking about Whoopi. Also, Lisa Ling, who is not an idiot, used to be on that show. I know way too much about a show that I hate, but my mom is always watching it and I’ve seen way too many episodes because of her. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/31 "2009-01-26T06:09:22Z")
No mention of the Fox and Friends gang? I will nominate the whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/32 "2009-01-26T07:26:56Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Horsecrap. I’ll admit I didn’t watch the clip to the end, because Jerry was annoying me, but Larry King very plainly said “and they didn’t cancel you, you canceled them.” It wasn’t any mistake – King was throwing Jerry a softball, as he always does. Instead of letting it go by or taking a swing at it, the usual options, Jerry stuck his head in front of the pitch and then rushed the mound. The tone of his question did not suggest rhetoric. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/33 "2009-01-28T10:31:49Z")
The tone of his voice did not even suggest a question. He said it, and was obviously expecting “right, we were done, we wanted to walk away on top, yada yada yada…” I repeat: Larry said “they didn’t cancel you, you canceled them.” Look, I regard Larry King as an over-the-hill hack – he’s never had an investigative bone in his body, he’s been phoning it in for years, he’s always been as pedestrian as Forrest Gump, and I have never, in my life, listened to him on the radio or watched him on TV. But, AFAICT, Jerry jumped his shit for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/34 "2009-01-28T11:04:41Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > No mention of the Fox and Friends gang. Steve Doocy does more to make The Daily Show funny then John Stewart does. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/35 "2009-01-28T11:58:07Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > The tone of his voice did not even suggest a question. He said it, and was obviously expecting “right, we were done, we wanted to walk away on top, yada yada yada…” > > I repeat: Larry said “they didn’t cancel you, you canceled them.” > > Look, I regard Larry King as an over-the-hill hack – he’s never had an investigative bone in his body, he’s been phoning it in for years, he’s always been as pedestrian as Forrest Gump, and I have never, in my life, listened to him on the radio or watched him on TV. But, AFAICT, Jerry jumped his shit for no reason. That’s the way I saw that, too – Jerry was the bigger buffoon, at least in that segment. As for stupidest person on TV, I don’t think she’s on any more, but she did have some show thingy on MTV, and said what was probably the dumbest statement I’ve ever heard on television (which is saying a lot, as far as the medium goes): Jessica Simpson. Admittedly, she was presenting it as a dumb thing she once said, but still, taking her at face value, she _actually once said that earnestly_. So, while she was talking about some school experienced or other, the quote was something like: “Then the teacher asked the class to name the 7 continents, and I raised my hand and said ‘a e i o u’.” It takes a while for the full effect to develop. But once it hits, it hurts, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/36 "2009-01-28T16:19:27Z")
Larry King. Don’t believe me? [Go to about 1 minute and 30 seconds into this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKDRFI7dd68) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/37 "2009-01-28T17:34:51Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > I repeat: Larry said “they didn’t cancel you, you canceled them.” LK: “\*You \*gave it up, right? They didn’t cancel you… you cancelled them?” [question implied, IMO] JS: “You’re not aware of this?” **LK: “No, I’m asking you.”** I’ll go ahead and take Larry King’s word on the fact that he was asking a question, since he clearly clarified that he was, in fact, asking the question. He then made a hand gesture to suggest that Seinfeld’s show was in a decline, saying something to the effect of, “Don’t most polls show…” ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936/38 "2009-01-28T18:27:18Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [YouTube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzkgskUkOlE) It was the Shawn Hornbeck case. The above excerpt starts at about 2:45 and Randi’s expressions are priceless there and when the other psychic is talking about professionalism among “seers” and why she won’t take his million dollar challenge. Hah, Randi is awesome. Although I guess I’m torn between laughing at Randi’s expressions and seething with rage at the malicious stupidity of people pretending to be psychic on issues like child abduction. :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-people-on-tv/482936.md?page=1)