Geraldo Rivera doubled down on his new controversial comments about Trayvon Martin during his Sunday show -- only to get a fiery reprimand from the lawyer for Martin's family.
Rivera -- who caused a firestorm in March for saying that Martin's hoodie was as much to blame for his death as George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed him -- stirred outrage again on Friday, when he said to Bill O'Reilly that newly released surveillance tapes showed that Martin was dressed in "thug wear" on the night of his death.
On Sunday, Rivera brought Benjamin Crump, the Martin family lawyer, on his own Fox News show.
"The reason I mentioned on the O'Reilly show the hoodie was the surveillance video from the 7-11," he said. "It's such a contrast what Trayvon really looked like that night as opposed to the little boy pictures that were released initially, that's the only reason. If he had taken that damn hood off his head, if he and Zimmerman had only spoken...don't you think that could have avoided this awful tragedy?"
Crump pointed out that Mark Zuckerberg is rarely seen without his hoodie on.
"You mean to tell me if Mark Zuckerberg was walking through the gated community, he could be profiled by George Zimmerman?" Crump said. "...What's the difference between the two?"
"The difference is in the eye of George Zimmerman, isn't it?" Rivera responded. "Isn't that the only subjective viewpoint, when you're talking about self-defense and why the encounter was initiated, isn't that what counts? I mean, I understand the reference and people can make fun of me all they want."
Crump compared Rivera's comments to those of people who blame rape victims for wearing short skirts.
"All I came to tell you Geraldo Rivera, is you can't profile people and act on it," he said. "...You're embarrassing your son again by making these statements." This last statement was a reference to Rivera's oldest son, who told him that his previous Martin comments made him ashamed of his father for the first time in his career.
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