Video: Bill O'Reilly's 4/20 report portrays all pot smokers as apathetic morons

Anti-pot group Smart Colorado found this past weekend's 4/20 celebration "shocking" -- but a report from Bill O'Reilly's Fox News juggernaut, The O'Reilly Factor, turns the event into a punchline, albeit while portraying participants as sadly clueless idiots. The report, from regular correspondent Jesse Watters, juxtaposes snippets of stoners making...

By Michael Roberts

April 23, 2014

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Anti-pot group Smart Colorado found this past weekend's 4/20 celebration "shocking" -- but a report from Bill O'Reilly's Fox News juggernaut, The O'Reilly Factor, turns the event into a punchline, albeit while portraying participants as sadly clueless idiots. The report, from regular correspondent Jesse Watters, juxtaposes snippets of stoners making hazy comments like "I love chocolate bunnies," "I wake up, smoke a bowl, go to sleep, wake up, smoke a bowl, go to work" and "I'm a trust-fund kid -- I don't do anything" with comedic film clips, like one from Dumb and Dumber in which Jim Carrey declares, "You are one pathetic loser!" That's followed by an interview segment in which Watters acknowledges that some people at 4/20 "had real jobs -- bartenders or they worked with their hands," but they "don't really aspire to anything."

Check out the report below.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

More from our Marijuana archive circa April 21: "4/20 in Denver events were "shocking," says anti-pot group Smart Colorado."

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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