Ocasio-Cortez takes aim at Fox News after guest mocks pronunciation of her name
Congresswoman speaks out after guest on Laura Ingraham's show accused her of 'doing the Latina thing'
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken aim at Fox News after a guest on Laura Ingraham’s show accused her of “doing the Latina thing” when she pronounces her own name.
The congresswoman responded in a series of tweet to a message highlighting a segment on Ingraham’s Fox News show, in which the TV host was speaking with attorney Joseph diGenova, a frequent commentator on the network.
During her conversation with diGenova, Ingraham asked him to comment on the way Ocasio-Cortez speaks when she introduces herself.
“She does the Latina thing,” diGenova replied, “where she does [with Spanish accent] ‘Anastasio [sic] Ocasio-Cortez.’”
Ocasio-Cortez reacted to a tweet from journalist Issam Ahmed, who wrote that “some pundits dislike it when people of colour pronounce their own names correctly”.
“How dare they refuse to say their name in a wrong accent & not mangle their own family name so that I can feel more comfortable instead of look inside myself & examine why something as small as *a person’s name* makes me uncomfortable in the first place?? This is an outrage!” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in faux indignation.
The congresswoman then said that Fox News “likes to say my name (incorrectly) as ‘Cortez’”.
“My last name is not ‘Cortez’, just as theirs isn’t ‘Ingra’ or ‘Carl’ or ‘Hann,’” she added, referring respectively to Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, and Sean Hannity.
“For the curious, in Latinx culture children take *both* their parents‘ names,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a follow-up message.
“It’s not a ‘progressive, new thing’. It’s just how some names work.
“[Puerto Rico] hyphenates, others mark differently. Your last name = the families that came together to make you.”
Ocasio-Cortez clarified that “AOC”, as she is often referred to, is “also fine” by her standards.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments