CBS denies claims made by Bill Belichick over controversial Tony Dokoupil interview
CBS has denied claims made by former NFL coach Bill Belichick in a statement released in response to the avalanche of criticism towards his CBS interview with anchor Tony Dokoupil.
The CBS Sunday Morning interview aired on April 27 and the eight-minute piece included footage of Bill’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson interrupting Tony to tell the crew that Bill, 73, would “not be talking about” their relationship.
Jordon was not being interviewed, but sat behind the cameras watching.
Bill’s statement
“I agreed to speak with CBS Sunday Morning to promote my new book, The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football. Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book,” the statement began.
“Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book. After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
© Getty ImagesCBS statement
“When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview. There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation,” a CBS News spokesperson told HELLO!
“This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.”
© CBSJordan’s role in Bill’s life
Bill’s statement claimed that Jordon was “not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track”.
Jordon and Bill work together professionally as well as being in a romantic relationship, and it is believed that she is working in a public relations and management capacity for Bill.
© Getty ImagesThe segment that aired on the Sunday morning series included the behind-the-scenes moments, and Tony’s voiceover revealed to viewers that “Jordon was a constant presence during our interview,” offering context to the decision to include the clip.
“We’re not talking about this,” she said to Tony as Bill sat in silence.
“No?” Tony asked Bill, looking directly at the former New England Patriots coach who is now working at the University of North Carolina.
“No,” replied Jordon.
© Variety via Getty Images“False narrative”?
“Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met, but we have been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021,” Bill’s statement continued, claiming that the “final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career”.
“Instead, it presents edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true,” he concluded.
