CNN Mocked for Lack of Texas Filibuster Coverage

Twitter lights up after the network airs a segment about blueberry muffins during Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis' day-long battle against anti-abortion legislation, while Fox News and MSNBC also are criticized online.

Hollywood has found a new cause celebre.

Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis received widespread praise from members of the entertainment industry Tuesday for her nearly 11-hour filibuster in the Texas legislature aimed at blocking stringent anti-abortion legislation.

The filibuster was to last until midnight, the official end of a 30-day special session called by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to address legislative issues. Among them was the Republican-backed Senate Bill 5, which would ban abortions past 20 weeks of pregnancy and close 37 of the 42 Texas clinics offering abortions.

The interest online was intense, with the Texas Tribune, an Austin-based nonprofit media organization, streaming the filibuster with as many as 100,000 streaming coverage at its highest point.

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“@WendyDavisTexas You are, excuse my French, a bad-ass bitch. We love you Wendy!” tweeted Lena Dunham a few hours into the filibuster, which began at 11 a.m. local time.

As the evening went on, cable networks came under fire on social media, with critics slamming the networks for what they saw as a failure to cover the filibuster properly. CNN, in particular, took a beating online, being mocked for a segment in which Piers Morgan discussed the caloric content of a blueberry muffin with Dr. Drew Pinsky.

The network’s Facebook page was inundated with comments by people slamming the network for ignoring the fillibuster.

Mia Farrow tweeted, “You are a disgrace @CNN u cannot call yourself a news channel,” while a screenshot of Morgan and Pinksy discussing the muffin circulated on Twitter.

Near the end of the filibuster, Davis was challenged by her Republican colleagues over points of order, while supporters shouted “let her speak.” A vote was eventually taken but not until after the midnight deadline.

It remains unclear if the legislation technically passed or not, because it happened after the deadline.

Below find more tweets from Hollywood.

You are a disgrace @CNN u cannot call yourself a news channel — mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) June 26, 2013

Lolz RT @jdubs88 Does anyone at CNN, MSNBC or FOX follow Twitter? Yet another major fail by cable news nets right now. — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) June 26, 2013

Momentarily suspending my Twitter vacation for Wendy Davis: http://t.co/N1YY0fO5ET — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) June 26, 2013

In awe of @WendyDavisTexas's leadership as she stands for women and filibusters #SB5! GO WENDY!! http://t.co/oQWVFQ8jn6 — Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) June 25, 2013

There's some young exec at FOX/MS/CNN just banging his head on his desk right now. "I WROTE A MEMO ABOUT THIS. I DID." — Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) June 26, 2013

@WendyDavisTexas You are, excuse my French, a bad-ass bitch. We love you Wendy! — Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) June 25, 2013

I've been away from the news all day and am just catching up on this Wendy Davis story. I am in awe of this woman. I #StandWithWendy! — Jesse Tyler Ferguson (@jessetyler) June 26, 2013

@jason_howerton whatever your views Wendy Davis is a strong woman — Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) June 26, 2013

Wendy Davis wins. She put the fear in those cowards. — rob delaney (@robdelaney) June 26, 2013

Sorkin frantically writing outline for Newsroom episode in which ACN is the only network covering the Wendy Davis filibuster live. #FACT — Gary Whitta (@garywhitta) June 26, 2013

Sen. Wendy Davis I don't know that much about you but you can totally crash at my house after your filibuster. — Jenni Konner (@campsucks) June 26, 2013