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Part of: The Michael Eric Dyson "we look good together" texts · The CNN NewsNight clash over Kamala Harris

Dispatch

Remember when Nancy Mace read a CNN guest's "kissy emoji" text into the congressional record?

A look back. On September 19, 2024, Rep. Nancy Mace used part of a House Oversight Committee hearing to enter into the official record a screenshot of a text she said Vanderbilt professor Michael Eric Dyson sent her after they clashed on CNN: "Shh don't tell anybody. We look good together," with a kissy emoji. Dyson denied hitting on her, said it was a joke, and called Mace "a bigot and racist." The clip is circulating again. In her own words and his, readers can judge.

Forbes Breaking News coverage of Rep. Nancy Mace revealing an alleged text message from Michael Eric Dyson during a House Oversight Committee hearing, September 19, 2024.
Photo: Forbes Breaking News (YouTube). Source

Remember when a sitting member of Congress used a House Oversight Committee hearing to read a flirty text message into the official record?

It is circulating again, so it is worth revisiting what is actually on the record.

On August 15, 2024, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and the Vanderbilt professor and author Michael Eric Dyson clashed on a CNN panel. Mace mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris's first name, and Dyson said on air that it reflected a "history and legacy of White disregard for the humanity of Black people." It was tense, and it was everywhere.

A little over a month later, on September 19, 2024, Mace brought it to a House Oversight Committee hearing. She asked the chair:

"I would like to also enter into the record a screenshot of a text message I received from the esteemed professor from Vanderbilt, Michael Eric Dyson."

By her account, after calling her racist on CNN, Dyson had texted her, "Shh don't tell anybody. We look good together," with a kissy emoji, and had complimented her on her looks. She posted the screenshots on X, and the clip went viral.

Forbes Breaking News coverage of the September 19, 2024 House Oversight hearing.

Dyson said it was a joke

Dyson rejected her account. In a public statement he wrote:

"The ridiculous lies told by Nancy Mace in the effort to smear my name because of her anger at being checked for her insensitive disregard for @VP. I had no intent with her to do anything but be nice. And her white women's tears and mendacity are all in the service of lies and distortions. I was wrong about one thing: she IS a bigot and racist."

In a video response he denied flirting ("There's no hitting on you"), said the "we look good together" line was about the two of them being "bi-polar opposites" rather than a come-on, and said the kissy emoji had been paired with a laughing emoji to signal he was joking, as reported by NewsOne and OutKick.

What is actually on the record

The House Oversight Committee's hearings concern federal oversight. The exchange above, a screenshot of a private text and a back-and-forth over whether a CNN guest was flirting, is what Mace asked to place on its official record. More than a year and a half later the segment is circulating again, and the headline still leads an item on Mace's own official "In the News" feed.

In her own words and his, readers can judge.

Sources & related coverage

This dispatch concerns public, on-record statements only: Mace's words at a public hearing and on X, and Dyson's public response. It takes no position on the merits of either account.

Remember when Nancy Mace read a CNN guest's "kissy emoji" text into the congressional record?: image 1
Remember when Nancy Mace read a CNN guest's "kissy emoji" text into the congressional record?: image 2
Remember when Nancy Mace read a CNN guest's "kissy emoji" text into the congressional record?: image 3