Christian Cooper, the black man falsely accused of threatening Amy Cooper and her dog in Central Park on May 25, said on The View that he did not support the death threats lodged against the white woman who called 911 on him. Amy, 41, told the birdwatcher, who simply asked her to leash her dog as required by the park, that she would tell the police she was being “threatened by an African-American man” if he didn’t stop filming the incident. She called 911 and did just that, sparking outrage when Christian’s sister, Melody Cooper, posted her brother’s video on Twitter. Christian, 57, describing the incident on the May 28 episode of The View, said that, “[I] decided consciously, I’m not going to participate in my own dehumanization.” But, the writer and editor thinks Amy getting death threats is “abhorrent.”
“About the death threats, I’ve been unequivocal about that she was getting them: It’s abhorrent and it is contrary,” Christian told the co-hosts. “If you think that what she did was wrong, that she was trying to bring death by cop down on my head, then there is no way you can justify turning around and putting a death threat on her head. So, that’s got to stop. That’s not acceptable.” Christian said that while he believes that Amy’s act was racist — a belief shared by thousands on social media including NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio — he didn’t want to go so far as to label her one. “Everything else that’s happened to her… I’m uncomfortable defining someone by a couple of seconds of what they’ve done,” Christian said. You know, it’s a stressful situation. She had a moment of very poor judgement.”
“There’s no excusing that it was a racist act,” he continued. “Because it was a racist act. But to define her entire life? I don’t know. Only she can tell us if that defines her entire life, by what she does going forward, and what she’s done in the past. I can’t answer that. The frenzy makes me uncomfortable.” Amy has since lost her job at the investment firm Franklin Templeton, the company tweeted after Melody’s tweet went viral. She also voluntarily surrendered her dog to the animal shelter from which she adopted him, the organization revealed on Facebook. In Christian’s video, Amy is grabbing onto the spaniel’s collar and dragging him; it’s clear that he was having trouble breathing.
Central Park birdwatcher Christian Cooper tells us even though the viral incident “was a racist act,” he’s “uncomfortable with defining someone by a couple of seconds of what they’ve done” and condemns the death threats made against her. https://t.co/6kPvPIdBL9 pic.twitter.com/vkrajmTHrn
— The View (@TheView) May 28, 2020
“This kind of racism can kill people; It could have killed my brother.”
Melody Cooper posted the video of a white woman calling 911 on her brother in Central Park so “no other black person would have to go through that kind of weaponization of racism.” https://t.co/6kPvPIdBL9 pic.twitter.com/k2ZtpZ1iNU
— The View (@TheView) May 28, 2020
Christian’s sister appeared on The View as well, and explained that she posted her brother’s Central Park video so “no other black person would have to go through that kind of weaponization of racism. This kind of racism can kill people; It could have killed my brother.”