African journalist Simon Ateba accuses White House Press Secretary of discrimination

The outspoken founder of an African news site has accused White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of “discrimination” after repeatedly confronting her in the briefing room.

Simon Ateba, who runs the Today News Africa website, raised the claim after a visibly frustrated Jean-Pierre walked out of Thursday’s daily briefing while discussing it with questions about next week’s US-Africa summit. .

Ateba has repeatedly sparred with Jean-Pierre and his predecessor Jen Psaki, accusing them of ignoring reporters in the “back of the room,” a motley crew representing smaller media outlets without assigned seats at briefings.

But with President Joe Biden’s upcoming three-day summit with 49 African leaders, Ateba believes he is long overdue for being called in for a question, as a representative of an African news site.

“People like me, it’s been a disaster, a catastrophe, covering the Biden White House,” Ateba said. foxnews in an interview on Friday. ‘Right now I am the voice of Africa in the United States. But I can confirm that the level of discrimination against me and against African journalists in the White House is staggering, shameful.”

Jean-Pierre, visibly frustrated, walked out of Thursday’s daily briefing when Ateba spoke over it with questions about next week’s US-Africa summit.

“It’s shocking, because she’s black, she’s an immigrant,” she said of Jean-Pierre, who was born in France and moved to the United States as a child. ‘I am black. I am also an immigrant,’ said Ateba.

Ateba said he believes he faces discrimination because of his noticeable accent, although he is not the only member of the White House press corps with a foreign accent.

‘First of all, I sound different. I was not born here. I was born in Cameroon,” she said. I don’t have an American accent. I tried. I have failed.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com late Friday.

It is not the first time that Ateba has spoken about the lack of opportunities to ask questions for him and his fellow journalists in the ‘back of the room’.

The briefing room seating arrangement is carefully controlled by the White House Correspondents Association, with the big news networks in the front and the smaller outlets in the back.

Less prestigious outlets have no assigned seating at all, and their representatives are derisively referred to by crowd favorites as “aisle people.”

Ateba said he believes he faces discrimination because of his noticeable accent, although he is not the only member of the White House press corps with a foreign accent.

While TV journalists in the front rows can expect to ask questions every day, those who sit further back, or come armed with awkward questions, often feel bad when their raised hands are ignored.

Ateba is known as one of the loudest members of the awkward meeting room crew.

Last month, he clashed with Jean-Pierre after she dismissed another reporter’s question about the origins of COVID during Dr. Anthony Fauci’s final briefing.

‘She has a valid question about the origin of COVID,’ Ateba yelled. ‘dr. Fauci is the best person to answer!’

In May, at Psaki’s final briefing, he repeatedly yelled “Would you take a question from the back of the room?” interrupting his press colleagues as well as the press secretary.

Ateba first interrupted Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller and then began yelling at ABC News reporter Mary Bruce as she tried to ask a question.

At a March briefing, Ateba took the lead in asking about the Biden administration’s response to Will Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Bruce, his frustration evident, replied, “Simon, please stop,” but Ateba was undeterred, repeating his demands.

‘If you can distribute the questions throughout the room and all of us in the back of the room,’ Ateba shouted.

Psaki at this point stepped in and said: ‘Simon, if you could respect your colleagues and other media reporters here, it would be greatly appreciated.’

Despite Ateba’s complaints, Psaki and other officials have called him in the past.

In February, for example, he asked Psaki about reports that he planned to take a job at MSNBC after leaving his White House post.

And at a March briefing, Ateba took the lead in asking about the Biden administration’s response to Will Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars.

To that question, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield responded that Biden had not seen the Oscars ceremony and had no official comment on it.