The Fox News reporter who was chased away by protesters outside the White House this weekend has been accused of racist behavior dating ba...
The Fox News reporter who was chased away by protesters outside the White House this weekend has been accused of racist behavior dating back to when he was in high school, when he allegedly spit on a black classmate while harassing her in the hallway.
Fox News reporter Leland Vittert, 37, and his crew were forced by protesters to leave the area outside the White House this weekend, with video of the incident quickly going viral.
In response, activist and Pod Save the People host Brittany Packnett Cunningham, 35, revealed that when she and Leland attended John Burroughs School in St. Louis together, he would follow her in the hallways and mock her for her anti-racism stance — and one day, when she turned to ask him to stop, he spit at her.
Speaking out: Activist and Pod Save the People host Brittany Packnett Cunningham has accused a Fox News reporter of racist behavior, including spitting at her
In the news: She made the accusations against her former high school classmate Leland Vittert after he covered the protests at the White House this weekend
The whole truth: Brittany went viral on Sunday for her Twitter thread in which she discussed the spitting story, which she had told before but never named names
Revealed: For the first time, she said that the teenager who harassed her and spit at her in high school was Leland
'For the sake of my own power, I’m going to say something I have never revealed in 20 years,' Brittany, who was a member of President Obama's 21st Century Policing Task Force, began a viral thread this weekend.
'I try my best to live my values. Integrity. Truth. Not hate of people, but love for justice. I’ve been learning how to convert the energy of oppression into righteous fuel for a long time. Ever since @LelandVittert spit at me in high school. I’ve been silent for 2 decades,' she wrote.
'I’ve told this *story* before but always hid his name. Even when he reported from the streets of Baltimore where I protested.
'I share it today not for karma, but because, as we rise up, I want it understood: We don’t ever have to relinquish our power to those who oppress us.'
In her thread, she included the original story, which she had written for a series for Amy Poehler several years ago.
In the original writing, she did not name Leland and instead assigned him a pseudonym: Privileged Pete.
'When I co-founded our first student diversity club with my group of gloriously, diverse friends, I felt myself becoming myself,' she wrote of her time in high school. 'Becoming the leader and activist my parents had raised.
Bold: She decided to finally reveal his named because she wants it understood that 'we don't ever have to relinquish our power to those who oppress us'
Older boy: She had previously told the story without identifying Leland, calling him 'Privileged Pete' and noting that he was an upperclassman at her school
Harassment: Brittany said he would 'walk up close behind' her between classes, asking her if he was being 'oppressive' — and when she turned to ask him to stop, he spit at her face
Unfair: He was the 'wealthy son of a school trustee' and she knew he'd face no punishment. In fact, he only had to apologize
'But this upperclassman — we'll call him Privileged Pete — was not feeling the love. He was of the school of thought that talking about racism was racist.
'Whether the racism is of the teenage or fully grown variety, there is one fundamental problem: racism is illogical. Its entire premise is faulty. Racism doesn't make sense. Neither do racists.
'Thus, Pete decided the best way to prove racism wasn't real was to be more racist and harass me. When he'd catch me between classes, he'd walk up close behind me and repeatedly ask if his presence was oppressive, walking me all the way to my next class.
'You read that right: he was actively harassing me while asking me if he was oppressive. Apparently Prejudiced Pete needed to add rich irony to his already strong diet of petty.
'I mostly thought he was silly. He was a popular person — everyone disliked Pete. He was nice to almost no one. I was already proficient in the art of ignoring him.
'But one day, I had had enough. I turned around and said "L — (Whoops! I mean...) 'Pete', you can't keep doing this." Then, in one swift, instantaneous, racist reflex, he sucked in deep, gathered all his might, and hurled a giant wad of spit right in my face. It landed at my feet.'
'I say his name in public, finally, after 20 years, to fully reclaim my power from a moment that silenced a young Brittany,' she said
She said that his actions were 'such an affront to my humanity' that she couldn't figure out how to respond fast enough and 'slinked into the girls' locker room.'
Worse, she knew he'd face no punishment — and she was right.
'When he spit at me, the institution threw me away,' she wrote in this weekend's Twitter thread. 'My high school only forced an apology out of him. No suspension or expulsion. And I expected it. He was the son of a wealthy school trustee. Me? A scholarship kid & daughter of a Black widow. I knew the game was rigged at 15.'
John Burroughs School, where the pair attended, is a private preparatory school for grade seven through 12. The school has a $50 million endowment, and fees for the upcoming academic year are $30,000.
She went on: 'Seeing him chased off by protestors in DC last night, I won’t lie to y’all-my first thoughts were pettyyyyyyy.
'But then I remembered that even behind the shield of journalism and the protection of whiteness, his racism is not bigger than my power. Never will be.
'I say all the time that protest is telling the truth out loud & in public. I say his name in public, finally, after 20 years, to fully reclaim my power from a moment that silenced a young Brittany. But know: this story isn’t about him. It’s about me & my most important lessons.
'So when I tell you all about converting the energy instead of letting it overtake you, I’m speaking from personal experience. When I tell you I’ve learned to gird myself with the armor of justice and beautiful Blackness instead of their toxicity, I am practiced at this,' she wrote.
This guy: She said that his actions were 'such an affront to my humanity' (Leland pictured left)
Hush: Leland (left) has not responded publicly to Brittany's viral thread
Take responsibility: Brittany has demanded an apology from her high school tormenter
'What I won’t allow oppression to do is rig my very life against me. America will not succeed in making my blessing my burden.
'God made me Black. Gave me parents who raised me to give a damn. Gave me loved ones who do, too. My degree is not in white supremacy, but Black triumph. My "why" has never been & never will be about white people, what was done to me or my people.
My "why" will forever remain the love I have for my people and my absolute soul-consuming obsession with justice. Justice is divine ordinance. It’s “what love looks like in public.”
'I decided at 15 not to obsess over the destruction I stand against. I obsess about what I stand for. About the wildest dreams of my ancestors. About radical imagination. About a freedom so thick it can’t be destroyed. About a Blackness so beautiful it can not be erased.
'He tried to bury me. He did not know I was a seed. They will try to bury you. Be a seed,' she concluded.
She signed off by adding: 'I told [this story] back when I wrote about all the apologies Black women are owed but rarely demand, from @serenawilliams to me. I didn’t name the man who spit at me then. Today, I do. @lelandvittert, you owe me an apology.'
Leland has not apologized, nor has he responded on social media.
However in a statement to DailyMail.com, Leland denied Brittany's accusations, insisting that he has 'never spit on or at anybody'.
'I can’t imagine the struggles Ms. Cunningham has faced in her life. But I was not a part of them. I can say unequivocally — I have never spit on or at anybody,' he said. 'I hope she will join me in recognizing the importance of journalists being able do their jobs and report on the issues of the day free of fears of violence.'
Out! Leland was reporting outside the White House this weekend when protesters forced his team to leave
'F*** Fox News!' someone can be heard yelling in scenes captured by a fellow reporter
He took more time to discuss the protest this weekend.
'The protesters have been throwing bricks, water bottles, and whatever at the Secret Service, and they've shown an awful lot of restraint,' he said on camera.
The authorities were standing shield-to-shield, blocking the walls of the White House.
Shortly afterwards, the crowd turned on him and he was forced to flee, along with Fox News cameraman Christian Galdabini and two security guards — one of whom was punched in the face and knocked to the ground.
'F*** Fox News!' someone can be heard yelling in scenes captured by a fellow reporter working for The Daily Caller.
One man in the crowd grabbed the crew's microphone and another tussled for the camera tripod.
The four made it out of the park and found a police car some two blocks away, but Leland said the officer at the wheel refused to get out of the squad car, even as he frantically pounded on the window.
'We were very clearly on our own, and in that situation, you just don't know how things are going to play out,' he said.
Leland later praised a security team for helping guide the team to safety.
'I give a lot of credit to them,' he said. 'I'm also grateful that the Daily Caller and some of the other organizations were able to follow the mob and document it. I really appreciate that they had our backs.'
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