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Audie Cornish is Interviewed about Mental Trauma; Audie Cornish is Interviewed about Will Smith Interview; Mercury Exposure in Beauty Cream. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 29, 2022 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Heard of the Klan. He had never heard of this group or that group. Didn't know anything about the Proud Boys supposedly.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: But with the investigation going on and not knowing and classified documents, what is the danger in that as a former head of Homeland Security?

JOHNSON: Well, the danger is that we fall into this trap of a certain large segment of the American population actually believing this because they want to believe it. Donald Trump's excuse is, well, I didn't know all about what this individual was up to. You know, Donald Trump is still protected by the United States Secret Service as a former president. I know because I used to be a Secret Service protectee. The Secret Service will not let anybody within your proximity unless they have vetted that individual. And so to claim, I didn't know who I was meeting with, is simply implausible.

LEMON: Thank you, sir. We appreciate you coming on.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

LEMON: It's always a pleasure seeing you.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you so much.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: A fascinating conversation.

OK, ahead, students at the University of Idaho are speaking to CNN about how safe, or unsafe, scared, they feel on campus after the unsolved string of murders of four fellow students.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, Will Smith is now talking about what was going through his mind when he went on stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock. We'll show you what he's saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:29]

HARLOW: Good morning, everyone.

Ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, actor Will Smith speaking out about slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Why he says he did it.

Also, a special report on popular skin creams and beauty products that contain toxic chemicals. A woman says her eyesight was damaged because of them.

And 40 million Americans this morning from Texas to Illinois threatened by severe weather, including tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind.

LEMON: But first, students at the University of Idaho speak to CNN as they return from Thanksgiving break, while police are on a manhunt right now for a killer of four students stabbed to death in their rental home just off campus.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVA FORSYTH, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO: I just know that if I stayed home I wouldn't get any work done. Plus, I feel safe in my dorm. I know a lot of people don't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You personally feel safe right now being on campus?

FORSYTH: I would say moderately. At night, not so much. I've been getting the safe locks that's offered by the campus and then that makes me feel a lot more safe. But, during the day, I feel pretty safe.

HAYDEN RICH, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO: It's kind of a different vibe. It seems kind of - seems kind of sad setting. It's kind of quiet. Most people are friendly, but now it's just kind of, I don't know, people are kind of sketched out, not really aware of the situation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the campus feel emptier?

RICH: Yes, definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you feel safe coming back?

LEXI WAY, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO: Well, with all the campus security and them upping that up and the safe locks and I have a lot of friends here. So, I never really go anywhere by myself. So, I do - I do feel safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, right now, detectives are asking for tips and surveillance video as they continue to investigate. COLLINS: In the wake of tragedies like that one, psychologists are

exploring the long-term effects that trauma has on entire communities, especially for people of color. Take a listen to the new episode of Audie Cornish's CNN podcast "The Assignment" on this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THEMA BRYANT, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: Erasure is political, right? So to say, I want to treat you as a human being, so I have to pretend your race doesn't exist, right, is basically what we're saying. If we can't -- if I can't ask you about your -- how your identity has affected your life, then basically we're saying to value you as a human, I have to pretend that we're all having an identical experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Joining us now is CNN anchor and correspondent and host of "The Assignment with Audie Cornish."

This is a really interesting conversation. What stood out to you from what she was telling you?

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It may feel like it's not related to the news, but in a way it was to me. There's just been this unprecedented kind of era of loss, right, whether it's mass shootings, also how Covid has affected families around the country and, in many cases, affected marginalized communities. And so I was trying to find out, hey, what are psychologists doing differently, especially as more and more people are seeking help.

And that's how I actually learned about Dr. Thema Bryant, who is going to be the incoming president of the American Psychological Association.

HARLOW: Don loved this so much, by the way. He was, like, listening to it all morning.

LEMON: I - I loved all of - you know I love you. This one resonated to me the most.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: Because it - I mean it hit home when you talked about -- when she - she talked about - we - we are all not having identical experiences.

CORNISH: Right.

LEMON: We're not. It's just - and that's OK. But the thing where you talked about this sort of -- to me it reminded me of (INAUDIBLE) where you talk about the emotional pain body of that people of color may have, or women may have, or Jewish people may have, that you carry for generations. That really - it - I took that to heart.

CORNISH: Yes.

LEMON: And I understood exactly what you were saying.

What is the lesson in that for all of us?

CORNISH: Well, the - the lesson in - for all of us is, as Dr. Thema said, are our background. It isn't necessarily we're locked into a destiny or that we're locked into a kind of trauma. It's that to acknowledge everything in that story is to help with the healing process.

So just to give you some context. There is genetic research called epigenetics which actually looks at gene suppression in groups that have dealt with trauma. They looked at the descendants of Holocaust survivors. They looked at the descendants of pregnant women after 9/11. So, the idea that you can kind of pass down certain traumas and that that can affect the next generation is real, is being researched.

[08:40:00]

The psychology part of it is actually saying, OK, let's actually ask these key questions when someone comes in. Have you experienced discrimination? Is there something in your background that I'm pretending I can't see, right, but I need to acknowledge. And this is a shift for psychologists, and I think her being placed in a position of power for them could make the difference because she's going to introduce these ideas in a more widespread way.

HARLOW: And how significant that they came out with this statement saying, the APA, that they were, quote, complicit in contributing to systemic inequalities, and hurt many through racism, racial discrimination, and denigration of people of color. To acknowledge it, to say it, to write it down, to put it out to the public.

CORNISH: Right. And it wasn't uncontroversial. There were people who said, look, this is woke politics taking over our science. This is not appropriate. This is identity politics coming into play. And Dr. Bryant's take is, as you heard, erasure is political. That if you don't have these conversations, and if you aren't having a kind of wholistic view of your patients, then you're doing them a disservice.

LEMON: This is - just real quick. This is not to say that destiny -- our destinies are predetermined because of the experiences our generational ancestors (ph) --

CORNISH: Right. And because that's the part I flinched at when I was talking to her.

LEMON: Yes. It explains behavior and also a greater understanding of each other.

CORNISH: Yes. There are post-traumatic stress responses people have talked about when it comes to racial stress, et cetera. And it's - it's part of our kind of broader acceptance of mental health in - in culture to understand what these things are and where they come from.

COLLINS: And it can be such an explanation for so many people.

We have more that we want to talk to you about, so don't go anywhere yet.

You can listen to Audie's new podcast, "The Assignment with Audie Cornish," whenever -- available wherever you get your podcasts.

LEMON: Will Smith opening up about his infamous slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL SMITH, ACTOR: While there's many nuances and complexities to it, you know. But, at the end of the day, I just -- I lost it.

LEMON: Will Will Smith's fans punish him by passing on his new film? He's going to respond. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:07]

LEMON: So, this morning, Will Smith is directly addressing concerns that moviegoers may reject him and his new film "Emancipation." "Emancipation" is a civil rights drama that's inspired by the real life story of how a slave named Peter escaped captivity in the deep south to join the union army. The film is Smith's first major role since winning best actor at the Academy Awards in March. Of course, his win was completely overshadowed by his slapping comedian Chris Rock after he told a joke at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Now Smith is opening up, saying that he is well aware that some people may not be ready to embrace his new work.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL SMITH, ACTOR: I completely understand that if, you know, someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready.

My deepest hope is that my actions don't penalize my team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, last night, Smith appeared on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" to discuss what exactly was going through his mind that night and what unfolded later.

Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL SMITH, ACTOR: That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. You know, there's many nuances and complexities to it, you know. But at the end of the day, I just -- I lost it.

I was going through something that night, you know. And not that that, you know, justifies my behavior at all.

TREVOR NOAH, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH": Yes, no, of course.

SMITH: I would just say - and, you know, you're asking, what did I learn. And it's that -- we just got to be nice to each other, man. You know, it's, like, it's hard. And I guess the thing that was most painful for me is, I took my heart and made it hard for other people, you know.

NOAH: Right.

SMITH: And it's like, I understood the idea when they say hurt people hurt people.

NOAH: Yes.

SMITH: I understand, you know, how shocking that was for people, man.

NOAH: Right.

SMITH: You know? On that stage -

NOAH: Were you shocked? You seemed - you seemed a little dazed afterwards, I'm not going to lie.

SMITH: Yes, yes, no, I was -- I was gone, dude. I was gone. I was gone. I was, you know, that was a -- a rage that had been bottled for a really long time.

NOAH: Right. Right.

SMITH: My little - my nephew, Dom, is nine. And he is the sweetest little boy. He's like, you know, we came home, and it's like he had stayed up late to see his Uncle Will, you know. And we're sitting in my kitchen. And he's on my lap and he's holding the Oscar. And he's just like, why did you hit that man, Uncle Will? You know, damn it. You're -- why are you trying to Oprah me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, in the wake of the incident, the Academy voted to ban Smith from the Oscars for ten years after he resigned.

So, we're back now. And we told Audie to stick around.

I'm wondering what you thought about that and then I'll share a little personal story. What did you think?

CORNISH: I kind of want to hear the story first. But I want to give a little context to this that just because of the segment we were last talking about. He is currently promoting a film. The film does take place in sort of the slavery era. And there is actually a kind of wider critical movement of black trauma on screen, which makes this film just a tiny bit more of a heavy lift to promote. The audience that you want to draw to it may be a little bit upset with Will Smith right now. The black audience that you may want to bring to it may feel fatigued by even the concept of the film.

[08:50:02]

So, the fact that he's out here doing this emotional labor publicly really does talk about the stakes of kind of this genre of work and the black artists who are still doing it, and are finding it to be literally a tougher sell.

LEMON: Yes. Well, look, not to betray any confidence. You guys know that I know Will Smith, and have been in - communicating with him over -- since that happened. I mean, I've been communicating with him before, but since it had happened we've been talking. And I actually met with him and I spoke with him for like an hour. It was just me and him in a room sitting down and talking. And, again, not to betray any confidence, but what he said on "The Daily Show" is pretty close to what we talked about, and it has been a journey for him over the last months. And I feel like he is somewhat of a different person. And I'm sure he will share that. When he's ready to share that, he'll share it.

But I agree with you, it's going to be a heavy lift and I know that he's --

CORNISH: Yes. And I'm not saying that to be so focused on the business part of it. I do think he has been apologizing. You know, in the era of crummy apologies, this is what apologizing does look like. And the question is now, what does it mean to re-embrace someone of this stature culturally? We've seen it in other contexts, Me Too, et cetera, where it gets kind of complicated how people feel about the person's art. This is not that, but it is on that same kind of spectrum of the apology, what happens after the apology, what does it mean to be forgiven in the cultural sense of it.

LEMON: And can he be re-embraced? That's the question. Can he be re- embraced? And, we'll see. We'll see. TBA - TBDA.

CORNISH: It will not be from lack of trying.

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: We'll see.

HARLOW: Thank you for your wisdom.

CORNISH: Yes, thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you. Thank you.

OK, up next, you're going to want to see this. New warnings about the risks posed by toxic ingredients found in some beauty products. We're talking about face cream. What it can do to your vision. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:19] SCIUTTO: All right, now to a CNN exclusive. Experts are warning about the risks posed by extremely toxic ingredients found in some skin whitening and other beauty products. Officials say a Minnesota woman suffered vision loss and developed other symptoms after unknowingly using beauty creams that contained high levels of mercury.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more. And this case was shared exclusively with CNN, with you by a doctor at the Minnesota Poison Control System.

I think everyone who uses cream on their face is wondering, what is it, how do I avoid it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, these are whitening creams, Poppy. And my colleagues who wrote this story, they talked to the Minnesota Department of Health. And that department, they found it in people's urine, they found it in homes, they found it in products.

Now, these products basically weren't -- my colleagues say they weren't really sold in like major retails. It was more neighborhood stores. But they certainly found it.

Let's take a look at where they found it in people's home when the folks at the Minnesota Department of Health went to go measure it, that was found in the air, it was found in washing machines, which means it's in clothing. It was found in bedding and towels. It can be very dangerous. If you read their story on cnn.com, you'll see some advice about what products to avoid.

Poppy. Kaitlan. Don.

HARLOW: OK. Elizabeth, thank you very much for the head's up. And, again, you can read more on cnn.com.

COLLINS: All right, in the season of giving, we want to show you how you can help our 2022 top ten CNN Heroes continue their very important work and have your donations also matched dollar for dollar.

Here's what Anderson Cooper said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper.

Each of this year's top ten CNN Heroes proves that one person really can make a difference. And again this year we're making it easy for you to support their great work. Just go to cnnheroes.com and click "donate" beneath any 2022 top ten CNN hero to make a direct contribution to that hero's fundraiser. You'll receive an e-mail confirming your donation, which is tax deductible in the United States.

No matter the amount, you can make a big difference in helping our heroes continue their life-changing work. And right now, through January 3rd, your donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to a total of $50,000 for each of this year's honorees.

CNN is proud to offer you this simple way to support each cause and celebrate all of these everyday people who are changing the world. You can donate from your laptop, your tablet or your phone. Just go to cnnheroes.com. Your donation in any amount will help them help others. Thanks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Of course, all of our top ten CNN heroes will be honored at "CNN Heroes: The All-Star Tribute," hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. That is live on Sunday, December 11th. Make sure you tune in.

LEMON: All right, overnight, we have to tell you about this, actor Clarence Gilyard Jr. passed away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE GILYARD, JR., ACTOR, "TOP GUN": Hey, man, we could have had him. Hey, we could have had him, man.

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR, "TOP GUN": I will fire when I am God damn good and ready. You got that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, this is how you would know Gilyard. He was known for his role as a naval flight officer in "Top Gun" and as a computer hacker in "Die Hard." He also appeared in TV series "Walker Texas Ranger" alongside Chuck Norris. His death was announced on Monday in a statement from the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he had been working as an associate professor at the college of fine arts. Gilyard was 66 years old. He will be missed.

HARLOW: What a life.

COLLINS: Thinking of his family, for sure.

LEMON: Yes, what a life. Yes. Lots of roles, right? I do -- "Walker Texas Ranger," that was a very, very popular role with the - with the hat.

COLLINS: Yes. So many of them.

LEMON: Yes.

[09:00:00]

COLLINS: Thanks for joining us this morning. "CNN NEWSROOM" starts right now.