‘F*ck You, F*ck Your Mother’: Reporter Goes On Ego Trip Against Independent Media Outside DNC
In an expletive-ridden outburst, George Chidi, a reporter for The Guardian, directed a tirade against a correspondent from Channel 5 News outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday. Chidi, who is associated with the Guardian US, was having a heated exchange with a journalist from Channel 5 identified only as Sidam, who was notably wearing a knit mask.
“I’m a journalist, I write for The Guardian,” Chidi asserted to Sidam who seemed unfamiliar with The Guardian’s credentials. “The Guardian?” Sidam asked skeptically. “Yeah, big paper, London, ninth largest English language publication in the world, The Guardian,” Chidi elaborated, adding, “I’m a legitimate journalist. Who are you?”
In response, Sidam simply stated, “I’m Sidam.” When Chidi pushed back with, “Sidam who?” Sidam clarified, “Sidam from Channel 5.” Chidi quickly became dismissive, retorting, “Like local?” to which Sidam replied, “No, Channel 5 on YouTube.”
This exchange further ignited Chidi’s temper, leading him to demand, “Yeah, okay. What’s your fucking problem?” Despite Sidam’s calm response, “I don’t have a problem,” Chidi retorted, “I think you do. I am staring at a man who claims to be a journalist and will not identify themselves. You’re a fuck up. Legitimate journalists will take issue with this and once I’m done with all of this shit, I’m going to find out what the hell this bullshit is about.”
Sidam, appearing unfazed, replied with, “Alright, figure it out,” and chuckled. Chidi shot back with, “I will,” before the video transitioned to another segment where Chidi unleashed another scathing rant. “This is fucked up, your people are fucked up, the folks who are listening to this shit are fucked up. You should be ashamed of yourself if you’re giving this guy clicks,” Chidi railed.
Sidam, humorously downplaying the incident, commented, “I got, uh, verbally assaulted by the Guardian.” Later footage shows Chidi disrupting another Sidam interview, erupting, “Fuck you, fuck your mother, in fact, I got 20 bucks I’ll go fuck your mother. Maybe she’ll give me 10 bucks back so that her husband can fucking watch,” and then abruptly walking away.
An astonished observer remarked, “That’s wild. People from The Guardian acting like that? That’s crazy as fuck.” Notably, Chidi’s Twitter account has since been set to private. He is described on Guardian US’s website as a politics and democracy reporter.
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Channel 5, conceived as an unconventional media outlet, balances the realm of journalism and comedy. Founded by Andrew Callaghan, the channel boasts a tagline that celebrates its distinct style: “a completely independent, digital journalism experience.” Thanks to its unique flair and guerilla journalism approach interspersed with ironic humor, Channel 5 has earned a massive following, currently standing at 2.72 million YouTube subscribers.