Ellen’s inflated crime reduction claims may have deep six’d otherwise fun episode

Everyone was thrilled by the exploits of Newark Mayor Cory Booker when he saved his neighbor from a burning building.

Well perhaps his Republican opponents were less than enthused by the Super Hero Mayor.

Ellen did a video interview with Mayor Booker, posted it on her website and on YouTube then pulled it. 

We did a story two days ago on the event and Ellen Show bit – Cory Booker Superhero Mayor of Newark NJ – and then the video disappeared.

Ellen was doing the old soft shoe on the facts but no one wants to confirm it since Ellen is popular and politicians can’t make gains correcting TV stars.

Ellen is cool but she needs to adopt the ethic of social media – it’s also cool to make mistakes and admit them.

No one will admit why the video was yanked from public view but it appears Ellen’s enthusiasm for the story got ahead of the facts.

In her intro, Ellen’s biographical intro claimed Mayor Booker had reduced crime in Newark by 50%.

“Newark, the narrator said, was a city “in desperate need of a hero” when Booker moved there in 1997. And since his election as Newark mayor in 2006, the narrator continued, many quality-of-life issues in the city have improved. “Crime rates have gone down almost 50 percent” since Booker took office, the narrator intoned.” NJ.com

Tell ’em it ain’t so Shoeless Joe. Apparently the real number is 16% less crime. Still commendable but not reality.

Here’s the link to YouTube that went dead yesterday.

(Ellen video was removed by The Ellen Show)

If you Google search “why did ellen pull cory booker video“, the first link is the The Ellen Show. Click on the link and you get redirected to the home page of The Ellen Show.

Whoosh, the event didn’t happen as it gets swept under the carpet.

Zina Hodge, rescued from her burning home by Mayor Brooker (photo NY Post)

The real heroic story is still true – Cory Booker did enter a burning house and rescue Zina Hodge, carrying her through a burning kitchen to safety. Hodge received burns but is alive today. Booker was burned on his hand but that appears to have healed.

“The show produced the video about the mayor,” DeGeneres’ publicist, Melissa Little Padgitt, said in an e-mail. “The information about the piece came from various sources. The overall purpose of the piece was to inform our viewers about the mayor and his accomplishments.” NJ.com.

The Mayor’s spokesperson Anne Torres said the Mayor’s office provide the show’s producers with a post from the cities website “55 Top Accomplishments in Five Year”, which makes no mention of crime statistics. Torres said they don’t know where The Ellen Show got their numbers.

We emailed both The Ellen Show and Mayor Booker’s office but didn’t get a reply yet.

Ellen wasn’t the only one who got the story wrong. I misspelled Booker as “Brooker” throughout Tuesday’s story. Duh!

Read more – ‘Ellen’ Inflates Newark Mayor’s Achievements