Abby Phillip On Viral Cam’ron Moment: ‘I Knew That We Needed to End the Interview’

CNN Newsnight Anchor Abby Phillip opened up about her extremely awkward interview with rapper/podcast host Cam’ron.

Phillip sat down as a guest on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday, October 28, to plug her new book, A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Freedom, but the conversation shifted to her awkward exchange with the It Is What It Is host. 

She was asked about the interview in which she asked Cam’ron about the allegations Diddy was facing. 

Instead of adding his opinion on the matter, Cam’ron plugged his sexual enhancement supplements, Pink Horsepower, and even took a sip of it before adding that he was going to get some “cheeks.”

“I knew that we needed to end the interview,” Phillip told the morning radio show hosts. “We were up against the end of the show, and we had to get to a certain time. I had to land that plane, and I did. And look, I mean, it was ridiculous, but as we know, that was the point.”

When Charlamagne jokingly asked about transcribers being confused by the “cheeks” remark, Phillip laughed it off, adding that the staff all wondered, “What just happened?”

Abby Phillip Knew From The Jump That A Quick Wrap From Cam’ron Was Necessary

Phillip then said she wouldn’t give the situation “much more oxygen,” revealing that it was Cam’ron’s team that had requested the Diddy question, despite Cam’ron’s response.

“All I will say is that we were told by his team that he wanted to talk about this, not the other way around,” Phillip revealed.

She also claims that the CNN team knew from the jump that an immediate wrap would be necessary.

“It was from the get-go,” Phillip said. “I’m not new to this. Like, I know from the beginning when somebody is not interested in being interviewed.”

Phillip also claims the Dipset founder was late to the interview, but it serves as a consolation prize; Cam did tell The Breakfast Club that his viral moment with CNN was his favorite interview.