Montel Williams Promises An ‘Expensive Headache’ For Pat McCrory’s New Campaign Ad (VIDEO, TWEETS)

Montel Williams (image from Williams' Facebook)
Montel Williams (image from Williams’ Facebook)

As a native North Carolinian, I’ve seen my fair share of ads that belong in campaign ad infamy. For instance, Jesse Helms’ infamous “Hands” ad attacking Harvey Gantt in 1990, Elizabeth Dole portraying Kay Hagan as a yipping female dog, and Dole falsely suggesting that Hagan took money from an atheist group.

As outrageous as these ads were, none of them resulted in the campaigns that aired them being taken to court. However, a campaign ad recently rolled out by Governor Pat McCrory may result in a hefty lawsuit from Montel Williams.

On Friday, McCrory rolled out an ad touting his support from law enforcement officers from across North Carolina. Watch it here.

About four seconds into the ad, Williams appears in a clip from “CNN Tonight” with Don Lemon to talk about “Black Lives Matter,” in which he criticized some of its more radical elements for overheated attacks on cops. “The rhetoric has been ratcheted up way too high,” Williams said. It was interspersed with commentary from Bill O’Reilly about “the war on cops.”

Williams has been an unrelenting critic of McCrory on a number of fronts, including North Carolina’s discriminatory bathroom bill and voter ID law. When he saw his face in McCrory’s latest campaign ad, he hit the ceiling on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Montel_Williams/status/771738472931553280

Soon afterward, Williams rushed out with a burning statement denouncing both McCrory and his campaign. Colin Campbell of The (Raleigh) News and Observer got a copy.

Williams spent most of the rest of Friday in a Twitter war with McCrory spokesman Ricky Diaz. The first salvo came from Diaz in response to Campbell tweeting out Williams’ statement.

https://twitter.com/RickyDiazNC/status/771777220939395072

But Williams was having none of it. He accused Diaz and his boss of misappropriating his image–and then claimed that McCrory’s own media consultant had disavowed the ad via email.

Later, Williams let McCrory have it on Facebook as well.

Screenshot courtesy Williams' Facebook
Screenshot courtesy Williams’ Facebook

By Friday night, Williams had had enough. Through his spokesman, Jonathan Franks, he announced that he was going to pursue legal action against the McCrory campaign.

It’ll be mighty interesting to see what was in the email Davis sent to Williams–and the chances of that are very good once depositions begin.

Since being elected mayor of my hometown, Charlotte, in 1995 with 56 percent of the vote, McCrory has only had to break a sweat in a general election campaign twice. He narrowly lost to Bev Perdue in his first run for governor in 2008, and is currently in the fight of his political life against state attorney general Roy Cooper.

That’s about the most plausible explanation for why McCrory violated one of the cardinal rules of producing a campaign ad. When you use a celebrity’s likeness, voice, or music, make sure he or she actually supports you. That failure could potentially cost McCrory a pretty penny. And unlike with HB2, he won’t be able to use taxpayer money to defend himself.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.