money, and it's clearly the way forward. >> it will be a campaign issue in 2016. great to have you with us tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >> that's "the ed show." "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. >> good evening, and thanks to you for tuning in. breaking news of the nfl scandal surrounding two of its biggest stars, moments ago, anheuser-busch, the leading sponsor of the last five super bowls released this statement. quote, we are disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this nfl season. we are not yet satisfied with the league's handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. we have shared our concerns and expectations with the league. and late today, another major

sponsor, campbell soup said it's told league officials, quote, we expect the nfl to take appropriate action. meantime, ray rice has until 11:59 p.m., just six hours from now, to appeal his indefinite suspension. it could be a direct challenge to nfl commissioner roger goodell. goodell says rice gave him a starkly different version of what happened in the elevator that night than what the surveillance tape shows. but a source close to rice tolls nbc's peter alexander that rice claims he did tell the commissioner that he punched his then fiancee. and if that weren't enough, the nfl today is also dealing with new fall-out involving minnesota viking adrian peterson, whose lawyer today is denying accusation of a second report of child abuse related to another

child. it's another challenge for a league trying to contain the damage from multiple scandals. joining me now is randal hill, a seven-year nfl veteran, lisa bloom, attorney and legal analyst at afo.com and bill rhoden, sports columnist for the "new york times." thank you all for being here. >> thank you, ref. >> thanks for having me. >> moments ago, the nfl responded to anheuser-busch, quote, we understand, we are taking action and there will be much more to come. bill, the sponsors are speaking out tonight. what does this mean for goodell and the league? >> well, i think what the sponsors are telling, there's no gun to your head, but the gun's on the table. the big news, they did not pull out. i read the statement, saying, where do they say they pull out? what they're saying is everything but we're going to hang around. what it is, basically, they're

aiming directly at goodell. but notice, nobody is pulling out. this is a multibillion dollar business, and they'll say, we'd rather have the commissioner out or we'll pull out. >> what does it mean? what is the impact of just this statement? >> -- let the investigation take place, let all the evidence show before anyone pulls out, before anyone makes a knee-jerk reaction to this particular scandal. >> you know, bill, i want to go back to something you said before going to lisa. anheuser-busch is a major nfl sponsor. between 2008 and 2013, it spent $149 million sponsoring super bowls, more than any other sponsor. in 2011, it signed a $1.2

billion deal, making bud light the league's official beer. how much influence does a sponsor like that have on the nfl? >> reverend, this is huge. that's why i'm saying, goodell is, he's feeling heat. this time last week, he probably was anesthetized. he's feeling a whole lot of heat. they're saying, listen, y'all better get it together. if that means this guy has got to go, he's got to go. i think that him going this time last week, was a really distant -- but now with anheuser-busch telling the nfl, listen, we got too many female -- >> and campbell soup. and because they did have to release it publicly. so that's saying -- >> you've been involved in this kinds of -- this kind of economics. the national football league is not going anywhere. who's going to go? the commissioner. >> lisa, let me go to the legal

side of this. nbc sports reports that ray rice will ask nfl commissioner goodell to recuse himself from the appeal. quote, apart from goodell already having prejudged the question of whether rice told the team and the league the truth regarding what happened in that elevator, goodell will be a witness whose version of the events and other key questions will have to be considered by the hearing officer for accuracy and credibility. lisa, what do you think happens here and how strong a case does ray rice have? >> well, first of all, when corporate america is saying, you've fallen below their moral code, nfl, you should realize that you have a problem. as to goodell, withdrawing himself from the investigation, that's probably a good idea. he's at the top of the food chain, though. ultimately, everybody is accountable to him. i don't know how far that's going to go. i think there needs to be a top to bottom investigation. so far i'm not persuaded that's

going to happen, that it is happening. i'm not persuaded that the people who are running this investigation are really serious about it. and adrian peterson is still playing, right? yes, we don't want to prejudge anything, but we know we have a 4-year-old child with injuries on his genitals from adrian peterson whooping him. i don't think that's acceptable to anyone. and there's photographic evidence. why isn't he at least suspended at this point? >> well, originally, rice had two-game suspension, then six, now it's indefinite. does he have a strong case, or any case at all if there is an impartial or free person investigating this from a legal standpoint? >> ray rice has no case at all to be reinstated. that's absurd. we've all seen the video of him punching out his then fiancee, of reacting in a cold and calm manner after he punched her out, dragging her out, kicking her feet out of the way. there's absolutely no grounds that i can see of why he should

be reinstated. he's just a horrible scourge on the nfl at this point. >> bill, let me ask you something, how do you think players have been treated? >> there are a couple of problems. there's a big problem. one problem, based on e-mails i've gotten, a lot of people have turned this into the demonization of the black athlete sort of thing. people have jumped from this to and look how they're spending their money and that kind of stuff. so, listen, this is about ray rice, and domestic abuse, this is not about black man. but then what goodell does, he goes and hires four women -- >> right. >> -- four women to throw money at, but not one of them was a black woman or a brown woman. he has four white women to handle this abuse problem, which number one, affects black and brown women the most. but you've got a young black woman who was beaten and a black

athlete. and what you do is not to then hire four women who are not black to deal with this. so all along, it just keeps getting tone deaf after tone deaf after tone deaf. what i realize is that goodell and the nfl have just become anesthetized to insensitivity. they just really don't understand how they've continued to mishandle this problem. >> what are you hearing from ex-players? what's going around the athletic world and even those who are no longer active players? what's the word going around? >> most of the former players are questioning, wondering if the nfl is overstepping their boundaries, as to, you know, should something that happens outside the field, or outside stadium walls, should it come to play inside the stadium walls? for example, i had a former player come up to me and he said, if a doctor committed these types of crime and/or alleged crimes, would they not be allowed to practice anymore?

and those are people who you look up in the community too. where does this line stop? i don't know. i'm not the type of person to make that judgment. but again, sit back, i know everyone has seen the videos of ray rice in the elevator and the situation with adrian peterson, with the child abuse, i've done those types of cases before. but again, let it come out, let all the evidence show, and let the nfl guide itself as to what needs to be done. >> but the difference -- [ all speak at once ] >> the difference is, these are public figures. >> yeah, so is a doctor. >> if i may make my point -- >> [ all speak at once ] >> let her make her point. >> they can't do things that will bring disrepute on their employer, if it's a tv network, a music company, or in this case, the nfl. >> if you see, randal, with all due respect, if we happen to get copy of a video of a doctor butchering a patient and millions of people see it and

the patient dies, something like that, because everybody saw it, his career is history. and unfortunately, or fortunately actually, we all saw ray rice who everybody says is a good guy, but all we know is what we saw and he brutalized a woman. so in this case, it's a tough case -- >> let me have randal have the last word. >> you're right, but apples to apples and oranges to oranges. ray rice is dead wrong. i'm a current federal agent and state law enforcement officer. he's dead wrong. but compare apples to apples. if a doctor actually went out and committed domestic abuse, you know, he's a public figure too. would he be not able to practice anymore? and that's just a question i'm asking. >> if he was in a hospital, he may be discharged and a doctor can't leverage being a doctor into getting multimillion dollar endorsements. it's not apples to apples.

they use their public notoriety to make millions of dollars. that notoriety comes with responsibility. randal hil thank you all for your time tonight. coming up, a top general is making headlines for talking about boots on the ground against isis. the american people don't want that, neither does the president. so what's this all about? also, right-wingers think they have a new benghazi bombshell, but it turns out to be just another dud. plus, president obama's big new fight to save thousands of lives in africa. and dating tips from the head of the gop, rush limbaugh. >> how many of you guys in our own experience with women have learned that "no" means "yes," if you know how to spot it? >> "no" means "yes"?

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will u.s. combat troops be sent to fight the terrorist group isis on the ground in iraq and syria? in a senate hearing today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey said it was a possibility. >> my view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. i believe that will prove true. but if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the united states, then i, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of u.s. military ground forces. >> general dempsey says he'd

consider recommending ground troops even though he didn't think they're necessary now. the general also asked if the president had ruled out sending in the ground troops. >> well, at this point, his stated policy is that we will not have u.s. ground forces in direct combat. so, yes, he's told me to come back to him on a case by case basis. >> the president doesn't want more u.s. troops in combat, and neither do the american people. one poll found 61% opposed to sending ground troops to iraq and syria. 61% of americans don't agree on anything, but they agreed they don't want to be bogged down again in iraq. and it was a sentiment on full display today with protests inside that senate hearing. >> thank you. would you please leave the room now? we're asking you nicely. we're asking you nicely.

[ inaudible ] >> after more than a decade of war, the american people want to make sure we look before we leap back into the mid east. joining me now is nicholas burn, former u.s. ambassador to nato, now a professor at harvard university. thanks for being here. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. >> ambassador, the general said he'd consider making a recommendation for ground troops, but we're not there yet, are we? >> oh, i don't think so. not by a long mile. i think the president's clear preference here is that we'll continue the american air strikes, but the ground forces will be the peshmerga and kurdish, hopefully the iraqi army performed better than it did this summer. and also, and this is a gamble, trying to find moderate rebels

who can fight isis where it has its base. but given the president's very consistent record going back to 2004, 2005, and 2006, the president's been consistent. he doesn't think we should be fighting major land wars in the middle east. and as you said, in your introduction, congress and the american public firmly -- [ inaudible ] -- only if there is insufficient local ground forces and only if there's a direct threat to the united states, which you really can't say right now there is, that he might recommend something different. so i do think president obama is going to be very tough minded on this issue. >> now, the president is calling congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle today to discuss the training of syrian rebels. the house is expected to vote on that plan tomorrow. here's what speaker boehner says

about it. >> the president's request is to train, a vetted free syrian army to fight isil in syria. and i frankly think the president's request is a sound one. i think there's a lot more we need to be doing, but there's no reason for us not to do what the president has asked us to do. >> syria is a complicated situation, but we must -- [ inaudible ] -- train and arm syrian opposition, is it the best option? >> well, i think it's good to see there's common ground between speaker boehner and president obama on this particular issue. i think that what we need to have and where the president is heading, we need an iraq-syria strategy. we cannot be successful in containing or defeating isis in

iraq if we don't undercut isis in syria. so the president is right, in my judgment. we have to train and equip those moderate syrian rebel forces who can then contest for power with isis in syria and the syrian government. we should have done that three, four years ago, but it's good to do it now. i think it makes a sensible policy for the united states. i support what the president is trying to do. >> now, general dempsey also said, ambassador, that there really is no military solution. does that mean that diplomacy is an important part of this? >> i think diplomacy is important right now, because what we have to do is create an arab coalition with europeans and north americans to try to defeat isis. you need turkey, and turkey's allowing foreign fighters to go across its border into iraq. you need turkey to dry up the ability of isis to export its

oil on the black market into turkey. you need qatar to stop funding some of these group. you need saudi arabia, kuwait, and the united arab emirates to make sure their own citizens are not funding isis. so the diplomatic piece of this, for a joint strategy, i think it's interesting, the words that the administration is using. are we trying to contain isis or defeat it? they're very different propositions requiring different responses. >> ambassador nicholas burns, thanks so much for your time tonight. >> thank you very much. coming up, they're back and focusing on benghazi. but tonight their new so-called bombshell is a dud. and in a mid term election where women are the critical vote, rush limbaugh is talking about whether "no" means "yes."

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see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. move over todd akin, step aside richard murd oocmurdoch, has a new poster child for all its problems with women voters. florida congressman steve sutherland who got in hot water for holding a men-only fund-raiser. "good men sitting around and solving political and social problems over fine food and drink date back to the 12th century with king arthur's table." king arthur and the 12th century. not exactly a forward-looking invite. but wait, there's more.

quote, tell the missus not to wait up because the after dinner whiskey and cigars will be smooth." i can just picture the scene. but tell the missus not to wait up, that's a little insensitive. when his opponent called him out, his response was even more baffling. >> i live with five women. that's all i'm saying. i live with five women. listen, has gwen ever been to a lingerie shower? ask her how many men were there. a lingerie shower? that's how he justifies his all-male fund-raiser. this election cycle, the republicans are having a major problem attracting female voters. we'll be talking about that ahead. but we're not letting southerland off the hook that

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on the eve of the first hearing of the benghazi select committee, the right claims they have a brand new bombshell. in the interview with the daily signal, a former state department official claims hillary clinton's aides were involved in scrubbing documents before they were handed over for the investigation. right-wingers pounced on the news and were outraged. >> a bombshell development, they say, in the benghazi terror attack investigation. some wonder if this could be a smoking gun of a potential cover-up. >> this is really serious, it is a cover-up. >> it's a potential game-changer involving hillary clinton's top aides. a bombshell report involving secretary of state hillary clinton. >> exclusive information coming your way on this bombshell. >> yet another big benghazi bombshell. >> a bombshell! but back on planet reality, turns out this bombshell is a

dud. media matters reports republicans admit they knew about these supposedly bombshell allegations last year. so where did this fake game-changer come from, and why is it gaining right-wing steam now? right before the big hearing. here's how it works. an article is posted on the daily signal, a news outlet for the conservative think-tank the heritage foundation, now headed by tea party leader jim dement, and which gets a big buck from the coke brothers. it's picked up by the "new york post," amplified by fox news, where host and conservative lawmakers call for more hearings. which creates more fodder for right-wing blogs. it's a vicious cycle with no bombshell, no smoking gun, just more news for right-wing media. and a waste of time and money

for the rest of us. joining me now, joe madison and david brock, founder of media matters and author of "the benghazi hoax," thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> david, are there any bombshells here? >> absolutely not. you know, the republicans -- [ inaudible ] -- and failing. and today they tried again and they also failed. now the facts are that the state department's appointed review, did a complete review. they were critical of the state department. so this makes no sense. the state department itself says it's impossible the access was denied by the arb. the source has said something of these things before. they were not taken with seriousness by republican investigators. he's given media interviews where he's never said this. and so suddenly on the eve

before the election, he comes out with this. he's a grieved former employee and the reporter here is a benghazi truther, she left cbs for as you said, the right-wing heritage foundation, so we need to consider the source. >> fox news evening shows broadcast 1,100 segments on benghazi following the attack, an average of 13 segments per week. and this was a perfect platform for the gop. the study also shows 97% of all congressional and administration interviews on benghazi were with republicans. joe? >> and what this basically says is that they have this big mega phone and here's the other thing you have to understand. fox does this and then what happens is that conservative talk radio then doubles down on it. so then you have the national people, again like limbaugh and

sean hannity and others, and then the second-stringers, the people on the local level, who then by wednesday, thursday, friday, they're simply parroting what they're heard. but media matters has really done us a favor. and i've got to give credit to the democrats because they also have put together and i hope people go to it, a website -- [ inaudible ] -- asked and answered. and that's going to put, quite honestly, the republicans on the spot. we've heard these questions before. we've gotten answers to this. and as you've said, it's a big waste of time and money, particularly when we're dealing with isis and what's going on there. >> today congressman elijah cummings, the ranking member of the benghazi select committee. he talked about the new hearings

that start tomorrow. listen. >> we don't want to be going over things that have been asked and answered in this time of austerity. we don't want to be wasting taxpayers' dollars. we've had, again, all of these investigations. we'll let you draw your own conclusions with regard to political motivation. >> is there any other conclusions to draw? any? other than that this is political? >> absolutely not. where most of us saw tragedy, the republicans saw political opportunity. they think this issue works for them. to try to tarnish secretary clinton because they're afraid they may face her in 2016. so the reality is, this entire thing is political. there were nine congressional investigations, this is the tenth and not one of the republican conspiracy theories has been substantiated at all. the issue has been settled.

>> but, joe, this could last all the way to the iowa caucuses in 2016, if we're talking about hillary? >> that's what they're hoping will be the case. i think as they pointed out, their most immediate issue is to try to gin up their base for this november, which is why i don't think we should be fooled. and people need to go to that website, they need to pay close attention to these hearings. it's really going to be a big waste of time and money. but, you know what, i think independence and democrats get the message. we know what's happening, and fox is going to do what fox does, and conservative talk radio is going to do what they do. and it's just a matter of getting out the vote. that will end all of this, quite honestly. >> you know, elizabeth hasselbeck tweeted something really incredible this afternoon. it says, quote, imagine if everyone that asked for

transparency in the nfl demanded that same transparency in our government, hash tag benghazi, hash tag irs. david, a fox news host has finally done the impossible, connecting the nfl domestic violence controversy to benghazi. >> yes, well, all sorts of conspiracies have been hatched. we put them out at media matters, but the truth is, no one's going to believe that. secretary clinton was fully transparent every step of the way and whatever the republicans want to say to attack her, she did more to get to the bottom of this and to fix the problems than any of them ever will. >> thank you for your time. we'll leave it there. >> thank you, reverend. still ahead, you've got to hear what the head of the gop, rush limbaugh, is saying about women. and about whether "no" means "no." also, has rihanna been

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have a 51% chance of keeping control of the senate. this is a big deal. after all the expectation that the democrats political fortunes were in more serious trouble, it could come down to turn-out. but today we're learning republicans are headed toward a big turn-out edge in the mid-terms. so getting out the vote is key. for minority voters, as we've talked about. but tonight, a major focus on women. democrats are banking on single women to help them win the senate, and republicans could be helping motivate women for democrats. yesterday senate republicans blocked a vote on the paycheck fairness act, in a vote of 52-40. it's the fourth time since 2012 that republicans voted against strengthening equal pay for

women. and while republicans in states like north carolina and colorado have suddenly supported a woman's right over the counter birth control, they're getting called out for not being truthful. >> just when insurance is finally covering the cost of prescription birth control, tim tillis says no. women should pay it. his plan lets insurance companies off the hook and cost north carolina families more. look closer and you'll see thom tillis isn't being honest with us. >> so it's a sprint to the finish and women could decide who controls the senate. what could possibly go wrong for republicans? joining me now is jess mcintosh and angela wright, thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> jess, how key are women voters this year, especially with polls showing democrats have a real shot at keeping the senate? >> women voters are the key to

everything this year. at emily's list, we've done significant polling into segments of the electorate who maybe drop off in your typical mid-term election. what we've found is that women's issues are the number one motivator for these women. access to birth control and abortion yes, but i'm also talking about raising minimum wage, ending gender description in pay, paid sick leave. sense us data came out today showing that the wage gap for men and women for the same work has increased by an entire cent. of course if you're an african american woman or latino, that number is even lower. republicans have very little to offer. >> you know, economic issues are women's issues. democrats need to get single women out to vote, but it's

going to be a struggle. the "new york times" reports, many single women do not vote, especially in non-presidential election years, while voting declines in all contests, the drop-off is steepest for minorities and unmarried women. the result is a turn-out that is older, whiter, and more conservative than in presidential years. for alaska, colorado, iowa and north carolina, the women vote could decide which way the races go. angela, how do democrats rally women to get out and vote in this climate? >> i think by being honest on the issues. at this point, we know that the gop's autopsy report is just that, it's dead. and they are dead wrong on so many of these issues, there's no way they can argue their way out of them, finesse it into a different message, because the policies are just backwards, dated and old and no one is willing to support those. at this point, democrats have to be clear about their agenda, not

only on economics, but they're talking about culture wars at this point. that's everything, rev, from voter suppression issues to affirmative action issues to wage disparity issues, to these issues now about over-the-counter birth control. and the fact that that is going to be again an economics issue, after the affordable care act, the only type of health care republicans want to support is an expensive care act. we have to continue to argue the justice of a democratic agenda and why it is again, the big-tent party. >> just ahead of the party, rish limbaugh is really not helping republicans' case. listen to what he said today about how one of the country's largest universities is trying to stop sexual assaults on its campus. >> at ohio state university to avoid being guilty of sexual assault or sexual violence, you

and your partner now have to agree on the reason why you are making out or having sex. agreeing on the why takes all the romance out of everything. it takes all the seduction. the consent must be freely given, and the absence of "no" does not mean "yes." how many of you guys in our own experience with women have learned that "no" means "yes," if you know how to spot it? >> "no" means "yes," if you know how to spot it? is this the kind of talk that republicans think will help them? >> the idea that rush limbaugh knows how to spot anything in a woman's brain is completely insane. the man's a relic. and we could feel sad for him, or we could laugh at him, if he didn't have an audience of millions of people who were hearing this hate speech. i mean, the man's perpetuating a crisis of sexual assault in america. i think congress is taking real

good steps to address it on college campuses and in the military. i think colleges are doing the right thing. we're seeing a thoughtful discussion around the nfl. but rush limbaugh with this cretanist idea of what seduction is, and it's beyond time that it his advertisers stop associating with him and he loses his audience. >> you mentioned health insurance, and this is more bad news for republicans. a new study shows that obama care is helping those who need health insurance the most. the cdc study shows lower income americans are becoming insured at a great rate than non-poor americans as a result of the coverage expansion in the affordable care act. now just look at how the number of uninsured poor and near-poor children has plummeted. angela, republicans have been so oppose to the affordable care act, this has got to hurt them.

>> again, we know there have been over 50 votes in the house of representatives to repeal obamacare. so today instead of celebrating victories, they're trying to repackage the message. that businesses have to cut jobs. we disproved that a long time ago. businesses may have been saying they were cutting jobs because of obamacare, but that's not the real reason. they were using that as an excuse and a political talking point. so again, people are playing politics with americans' ability to have health care. there's no reason for this again to be a partisan issue. this is about the healthy sustainability of all americans regardless of the party affiliation, their race or age. we also saw a substantial increase with young adults from 19 to 26. that part of the community that the president wanted to ensure weren't dropped off their

parents's insurance when they were in college. i wish they could put politics aside to celebrate that. >> why do female voters have a problem with gop politics? a recent poll shows female voters say the republican party is intolerant, lacking in compassion, and stuck in the past. >> so hard to believe. >> and the republicans' own poll shows 49% of women viewed republicans unfavorably. >> they're not honestly giving us a ton to think better of them on. i mean, the policy agenda is terrible. the candidates are terrible. and it's regularly punctuated by rush limbaugh "no" means "yes," or steve southerland's lingerie party. this is a party that knows it can't talk to women, but it can't figure out how to fix that in the next 49 days. >> going to have to leave it

there. thank you. thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. coming up, rihanna is making big headlines today. it all has to do with football, music, and network television. that's next. plus, an oscar winner and elmo team up to send a great message to kids. stay with us. ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm here we go, here we go, here we go. ♪ fifty omaha set hut ♪ losing feeling in my toes ♪ ♪ nothing beats that new car smell ♪ ♪ chicken parm you taste so good ♪ ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm

that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed. if we can't offer faster speeds or save you money we'll give you $150. comcast business built for business.

rihanna is making headlines today. she's slamming cbs for its decision to cancel her hit song "run this town" from their thursday night football coverage. cbs dropped the song from the nfl season opener last week, in the wake of the ray rice scandal. you might remember rihanna suffered from domestic violence at the hands of her ex-boyfriend chris brown in 2009. reports said cbs planned to bring the song back this week. but today, rihanna sent this tweet. cbs, you pulled my song last week, now you want to slide it back in this thursday. no! [ bleep ] you. y'all are sad for penalizing me for this. cbs responded by dropping rihanna for the rest of the season. so what do you think? is rihanna being penalized for

being a victim of domestic abuse? our social media was on fire today with this debate. let us know what you think. please head to our facebook page. we'll be right back.

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i mean bayer back & body. it works great for pain. bayer back & body provides effective relief for your tough pain. better? yeah...thanks for the tip! we end tonight by talking about a hollywood star, a puppet, and feeling comfortable in your own skin. lupita nyong'o won our hearts with the release of "12 years a slave" last year, her role in that film earned her an academy award. but in april, lupita was put on the cover of "people" magazine's most beautiful issue. but she didn't always feel this way. at an essence magazine event last year, she spoke in emotional terms about not feeling beautiful in the past. >> i remember a time when i too felt unbeautiful. i put on the tv and only saw pale skin. i got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin, and my one

prayer to god, the miracle worker, was that i would wake up lighter-skinned. >> but, of course, lupita is perfect just the way she is, and she just went on sesame street to share with children that message of self-acceptance and self-empowerment. >> skin can also help you touch and that's the thing i love most about skin, elmo. >> what's that? >> skin comes in lots of beautiful shades and colors. >> oh, look at that. my skin is a beautiful red. you know what? >> what's that elmo? >> i love my skin. >> me too. i love my skin. >> beautiful shades and colors. teaching children to embrace themselves, to love who they are, and not have any complexes

because of external, small-minded people. couldn't be a better message that lupita and elmo gave. if you embrace yourself young, you'll grow up and be what you need to be in life. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. "hardball" starts right now. >> war plan, attack left and right. let's play "hardball." ♪ ♪ good evening, i'm chris matthews. in washington a slew of big stories tonight. loud calls against the war, president obama championing against the terrorist group isis. the heavy lift, including 3,000 u.s. troops he's asking us to perform, against ebola in africa. the minnesota governor's call for a key nfl player, star running back, adrian peterson, to be sidelined for child