Co-host John Roberts and Ogunnaike discussed the concert's lackluster ratings in the first hour of Monday's "American Morning." Ogunnaike blamed the ratings situation on "benefit fatigue" and people actually wanting to be out in the environment instead of sitting at home watching celebrities rant about saving it.
The most interesting exchange of the segment came when Roberts asked about the celebrities' motivation for appearing at Live Earth.
Video (1:11): Real (1.94 MB) or Windows (2.20 MB), plus MP3 audio (529 kB).
ROBERTS: Do these people really care about this, or do you think it's just there to boost their image? Some of the criticism of this whole thing was that these don't -- these people really aren't invested. They just want to make sure their name is attached to the cause.
OGUNNAIKE: A lot of people think it's a bit hypocritical. I mean, celebrities are some of the least eco-friendly people on the face of the planet. They say that they are interested in the environment, but you also have tours that not only guzzle a huge amount of electricity, but the gas, the tour buses, the entourages, the private jets, that all contributes to, you know, the carbon consciousness that everyone is so obsessed with right now. And they are some of the least eco-friendly people on the planet. So, to have them say, ‘People, you know, recycle,' use electricity -- you know, electricity-efficient light bulbs. People aren't really trying to hear that from Madonna when she's got a fleet of cars sitting in her driveway.
Ogunnaike was basically making the point that many conservative commentators have made about celebrities' involvement in environmental causes. That's something you wouldn't expect to hear on CNN.
