The Guardian’s George Chidi went on an expletive-filled rant against a correspondent for Channel 5 News outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday.
“I’m a journalist, I write for The Guardian,” Chidi tells the correspondent, who was wearing a knit mask and only identified himself as Sidam from Channel 5.
“The Guardian?” Sidam, asks incredulously.
“Yeah, big paper, London, ninth largest English language publication in the world, The Guardian,” Chidi responds. “I’m a legitimate journalist. Who are you?”
“I’m Sidam,” he replies.
“Sidam who?” Chidi asks with frustration.
“Sidam from Channel 5.”
“Like local?” Chidi asks.
“No, Channel 5 on YouTube,” Sidam responds.
“Yeah, okay,” Chidi says before escalating. “What’s your fucking problem?”
“I don’t have a problem,” Sidam replies.
“I think you do,” Chidi claps back. “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.”
“Alright, figure it out,” Sidam responds, laughing.
“I will,” Chidi replies.
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The video cuts away before returning to an extended diatribe from Chidi. “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 ranted.
“I got, uh, verbally assaulted by the Guardian,” Sidam said.
The pair reunited later in the video as Chidi appeared to interrupt another Sidam interview.
“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,” he said before walking away.
“That’s wild. People from The Guardian acting like that? That’s crazy as fuck,” an onlooker observed.
George Chidi your wonderful journalist who likes to say things like “fuck you, fuck your mother. In fact I got twenty bucks, I’ll go fuck your mother! Maybe she’ll give me ten bucks back so that her husband can go fuckin watch.” Nice pic.twitter.com/WJ6TyWpWN5
— SLC Beav (@GoBeavvs) August 21, 2024
Chidi, whose Twitter account is now set to private, is a politics and democracy reporter for Guardian US, according to their website.
Channel 5 is a tongue-in-cheek media brand which toes the line between journalism and comedy. The outlet’s founder Andrew Callaghan touts it as “a completely independent, digital journalism experience.”
The outlet has become an internet sensation, amassing 2.72 million followers on YouTube for their guerilla style journalism and ironic comedy stylings.
