British reporter Martin Bashir plays himself on the CBS hit drama Madam Secretary. He looks familiar because he’s the TV anchor who interviewed icons Diana, Princess of Wales (BBC) and the King of Pop, Michael Jackson (ITV).
In the US, while working at MSNBC, Bashir made “ill-judged comments” about the former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, in 2013. He criticized Palin for comments she made comparing the Federal debt to slavery. He said: “When Mrs. Palin invokes slavery, she doesn’t just prove her rank ignorance. She confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate.” Thistlewood’s “Derby’s dose” involved forcing slaves to defecate into the mouth of another slave as punishment. Bashir made an on-air apology and then resigned. Madam Secretary airs Sunday, March 1 at 8pm on CBS.
