we should address? >> not really, no. you're a politician. >> yeah. okay. i'm being pulled away. you know, we turned down another interview for this. >> where are you going? you're leaving? absolutely extraordinary, dare i say it, surreal moment. christine o'donnell, one-time tea party darling walks out of my studio rather than answering straightforward questions. you've heard all about the fuss. and if you missed it, tonight we're going to reair the whole interview all over again. i'm going to get some of the smartest people in politics and media to weigh in with their verdict. was it christine's day? or was it mine? >> all right. are we off? are we done? >> i'm not. i'm still here. decide for yourself. this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening, i'm here in san diego where i'm doing an interview with presidential hopeful jon huntsman and that will air at monday night 9:00 p.m. eastern. but right now tonight, it's all about the scandal involving me and christine o'donnell and that interview and that walkout. we thought it'd be a good idea to bring you up to speed by getting correspondent joe john to do a wrapup of what's going on over the last 48 hours since she memorably left the studio. it would appear that the interview has just been ended. >> reporter: it's amazing what walking off the set of a national prime time tv show can do for someone who is trying to sell a book based on a losing senate campaign. >> i'm just asking you questions based on your own public statements and now what you've written in your own book. it's hardly rude to ask you that, surely. >> well, don't you think as a host, if i say this is what i want to talk about, that's what we should address? >> not really, no. you're a politician. >> yes. yeah. okay, i'm being pulled away. you know, we turned down another interview for this. >> where are you going? >> reporter: for one thing, after christine o'donnell walked off the set, she didn't have to talk much more about the campaign or the book. but now she's trying to make it all about the talk show host. telling a fox station that what got her upset was not piers' question about gay marriage but the line of questioning about sex in general. >> he had a decidedly inappropriate line of questioning leading up to that that, many people, what the bloggers are saying is borderline creepy. i was not there to talk about sex and he would not stop trying to talk about sex. >> reporter: then there are the tweets. piers, thanks for the invite. schedule is already packed. maybe another night. no hard feelings, you cheeky bugger. the whirlwind media blitz peaking today on nbc's "today." >> you know, he put me in a position that was very awkward and very uncomfortable and we were late. getting the wrapup signal off camera because we had a roomful of republican women and c-span waiting for me, and the interview was over and he wasn't letting go because he needs the ratings, which is why he's exaggerating what happened. i didn't storm off. his sound person is the one who took off my mike. >> reporter: and who was that that stepped in front of the camera? she says it was one of her staffers. for all the tension here, this is plain old-fashioned buzz building. the likes of which o'donnell probably hasn't seen since the political ad that propelled her to fame, or perhaps infamy. >> i'm not a witch. >> reporter: and while she claims it's all about the ratings for the talk show host, few would deny the real ratings boost would only come after christine o'donnell's call to take off the mike. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> trying to explain all this is editor at large at media and founder of change the ratio, senior writer for ""time" magazine" and gloria allred. i've been charged with sexism, am i guilty? >> piers, in this instance you are definitely not guilty. i thought your questions were appropriate. certainly germane and i still can't understand why she chose that particular moment to walk out, but in this case, no. you're doing okay. >> well, it's a relief, obviously. and when you watched it, i mean, it seemed to me she was perfectly comfortable and was joking and laughing about the earlier exchanges, which she now claims were so offensive. it was the direct question about gay marriage, which got her to leave the set. and i got the distinct feeling in that moment it's because she felt uncomfortable giving any kind of answer. did you think that? >> that was the impression i got as well. you showed the clip, referencing her former stance against masturbation and it was the gay marriage she didn't want to address because it would have engaged actual policy. >> let me bring in james. what was your view as a man? we've all been guilty in the past of sexism in some form, did you think i was crossing a line? >> speaking for all men, i absolve you from sexism on this as well. we had a conclave and reached that agreement. i can understand if christine o'donnell were sensitive on this point, because from what memories of her campaign that i haven't refrpressed, there was fair amount -- there was some sexist coverage back then. and i don't think that the general point about the way that women candidates are sometimes treated and treated on gender issues and sex related political issues, you know, there are elements of that. and there have been in the past around her. >> what i would say to that is i interviewed mitt romney recently. i'm here in san diego today having just interviewed jon huntsman. i asked both of those gentlemen about their view on gay marriage and had they made public statements on television shows about dabbling in satanic witchcraft or saying that masturbation is a sin and should be avoided, i think i would have asked them if they'd written this all in a new book and covered it again, i would have asked them the same questions. i mean, just to remind everybody, she was on this show to promote a new book, an autobiography in which she talks about all the issues i raised. i don't see how you can possibly promote a book and then simply refuse to answer questions about the content of the book, and more than that, accuse a host, who has the audacity to ask you, of being creepy, sexist and harassing you. what do you think, james? >> i -- i think that's probably -- i think it's probably true, that if you're going out to promote a book you should be willing to talk about the book. and i, you know, you know, i join the members of this panel that you have accepted in approving your behavior in that interview. i will say this, it's a bit bizarre we're now on the third day of round the clock intensive piers morgan coverage of the piers morgan interview of christine o'donnell. >> i suppose my response would be she was on "the today show" this morning making pretty serious allegations about me and my integrity as a host and journalist, calling me creepy, sexually harassing her and all this kind of thing. i think under those circumstances i've got no choice but to respond and to fend my honor and that of cnn. because i felt the questioning was completely appropriate. >> i think the larger issue here is the way christine o'donnell has torn a page from the playbook sarah palin made famous which is the media exists to promote the platform that i want to advance. i do not have to answer questions that i do not wish to address. i do not have to say anything specific about policy, and when i feel like i've been backed into a corner i will lash out against the media. that is sort of textbook sarah palin. christine o'donnell took a page from that during her campaign, and she's doing it again here. so that, to me, is the larger danger of blowing this off as one small specific example. it's a rather new phenomenon of public figures thinking that the media only exists to provide them with a platform and not to actually vet them and kick the tires. >> i agree. and, gloria, you're the one i'm really fearful of because you are the legendary attorney here. did i breach her civil rights? was i a sexist pig? what's your damning verdict? >> well, piers, i do represent probably more sexual harassment victims than any other attorney in the country, and i will say this. not guilty. you are not guilty of sexual harassment. first of all, i'm really, really upset with her. i practically lunged out of my seat and into the television screen when i was watching the interview. and the time by the way later that she accused you of so-called borderline sexual harassment. first of all, it's not severe, it's not pervasive and it was not most of all unwelcome, which is what is needed for sexual harassment. she not only welcomed it, she has begun the conversation many years ago, continuing in the book, about sexual behavior. so this is nonsense, and i really resent, and i'm angry, when anyone claims sexual harassment when they were not truly a victim of it. it's like the boy who cried wolf. and then when true victims of sexual harassment are harassed and say they were, no one's going to believe them, because it's been so diluted. so, christine, you need to take that back. that was wrong. even if you were saying it to promote your book, you shouldn't be trying to make a profit out of increasing your numbers, your profit by accusing piers morgan of sexual harassment. that's wrong. >> yeah, i actually do feel it was a bit of a cheap shot and under any other circumstances, borderline actionable, to quote one of her phrases. to accuse someone of sexually harassing you when they're actually asking you about stuff you've written in a book that you are there promoting i found just completely ridiculous. let me come back to you, james -- >> also, you're not her employer. >> well, that's sexist, piers. frankly. >> james, back to you. >> yeah, you know, i'm not going to dispute anything that was just said there. i will say i think somebody has to make the point that, yes, christine o'donnell was promoting a book here. i think it's also possible for, you know, a couple of parties in this action to benefit from this promotion, and i think there's a certain -- i think it may be redowns a bit to piers morgan and cnn's benefit that we're all on here talking about, you know, this controversy that apparently everyone's talking about, piers morgan, he's dangerous. he's cheeky, watch out. who's going to walk off next? well -- >> well, i'm not going to deny that. >> this isn't quite the nixon/frost moment, you know, it's being played on on this channel presently. >> let me -- let me take it on the chin. >> as well, to have this conversation, because the public then needs to have an understanding and has a better understanding of what truly is sexual harassment or is not sexual harassment. and knows who is doing it and who is accusing people of doing it without any true basis whatsoever. >> and more broadly, to have a recognition that not just harassment but that there are double standards, that there are instances where women are treated differently in the media and are, you know, treated as sexual objects or there are lines that are crossed. and in this case it's very clear that piers did nothing wrong. but in terms of covering the media and certainly flashbacks of the 2008 election and primary and coverage of hillary clinton are coming up, so there are often issues. and it's good to be aware of them and to address them as they come up. >> well, i think there are good issues to come out of this, agree with gloria. you've got to be careful when you use phrases of sexual harassment over such trivial issues as this. there's a bigger issue about politicians who want their cake and eat it too, choose what they want to talk about and won't talk about. that's unacceptable. and i plead guilty this has been very good for me, for my show, for ratings, and if there are any other politicians who want to walk in and walk out under ridiculous circumstances as these, i'm your man. thank you very much for coming on, and long may we all be talking about me. when we come back, we'll reair the entire interview between christine o'donnell and me. for anyone who missed it the first time or is still unsure about exactly what was said and the context in which it was said. here it comes, warts and all, unedited for your eyes only, after the break. ♪ [ male announcer ] they'll see you...before you see them. cops are cracking down on drinking and riding. drive sober, or get pulled over. happened to come across quicken loans online. 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[ male announcer ] hurry into crabfest at red lobster and savor 3 crab entrees under $20 like our crab and seafood bake... or our snow crab and crab butter shrimp. my name's jon forsythe and i sea food differently. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. i've been conductingibili conductingibiliticonductingibi u are views withpublic figures for 25 years. i've her had anyone walk out on me until wednesday night when christine o'donnell left the studio stage left. we thought it'd be a good idea to reair the whole thing in its entirety, unedited so you can make your own mind up if i was as she claims, creepy, inappropriate and bordering on sexually harassing her. christine o'donnell, how are you? >> i'm doing well. good to see you, piers. >> i couldn't help but notice you did a sign of the cross as you sat down there. are you a bit nervous about the interview or? >> i do that off camera. i didn't realize you were watching. i do that just because before i -- ever since my very first tv interview i just pray. you know, ask for god's blessing on what i'm about to say. >> well, i was quite relieved. i was expecting some sort of devil worshipping sign. here's your book "troublemaker" and what i was struck by is a description on the back, a quote from you. they call us whacky, they call us wing nuts. we call us the people. i've met lots of people who are wacky and wing nuts. you can be both, can't you? >> oh, yeah, it's an exciting time right now what's going on in the political establishment and the political process right now, but that's a quote from my introduction which is a quote from a speech that i gave reminding the reader, reminding the audience, that as the establishment pushed back and say they're extremists, don't listen to them, i remind them they said the very same thing about our founding fathers. they said the very same thing about the ab lishennists who wanted to end slavery, they're unrealistic, naive about the establishment in the political process. but these folks were committed to a vision, they were committed to the greater good and they sack filrificed and they didn't up. and they turned these bad times in american history into major breakthroughs. and, you know, the foreign press corps has called this time the second american revolution. and we need to keep moving forward and remember that if we want to enjoy the same fate as the first american revolution, we have to not listen to the name-calling and the harassment and the malignment that they might throw our way. >> you certainly got plenty of that. you were this star of the midterm elections, you were the hottest thing the tea party had produced in probably ever at the time, and then it all went horribly wrong, didn't it and you got hammered all over the place. >> yeah. >> when you look back on it, what was the thing you look back for not your downfall but your hiccup? >> i like the way you say it's a hiccup, thank you for minimizing that. >> my pleasure. >> but i think it's a combination of things, and you can't point to any one thing, but rather a perfect storm. and it started with the fact that our party wouldn't unite. the day that i won the primary, you had major national republican figures going on national television, slamming me. when instead, what we needed to do is what they did in kentucky, where they, you know, mitch mcconnell railed against rand paul, but as soon as he won the primary, this he were arm in arm saying, let's take this guy to the finish line, and the strength of that united party is what ultimately won a victory. we had none of that in delaware. instead, as soon as i won the primary, you had, you know, the white house, barack obama personally came to delaware to campaign against me. you had of course the whole democratic machine coming against me, slamming me, and then i had my own party, you know, some of those ousted leaders were actually telling people to vote for my democratic opponent. so it was a very heavy lift for a grassroots, mostly volunteer-based campaign. and without the strength of the united party, it was difficult. and then of course, as i admit in the book, we made certainly a lot of mistakes, some of those were self-inflicted wounds, as i admit that i definitely regret. >> listen, why don't we just jumped in there. >> okay. >> and remind you. i'm sure you'll be thrilled about this. i'll remind you of one of the self-inflicted wounds. so have a little look at this. >> i dabbled into witchcraft, i never joined a -- >> wait a minute, you were a witch? >> i didn't join it, let's get this straight. >> wait. i love this. you go, i was a witch. wait a minute. >> that's exactly why, because -- >> how were you a witch? >> because i dabbled into witchcraft, i hung around people who were doing these things. >> having fun? >> i'm not making this stuff up, i know what they told me they do. and. >> wait, i want to hear about this. >> one of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar and i didn't know it. there's a little blood there and stuff like that. >> a date? >> yeah. i went to a movie and had a little midnight picnic. >> what was that, a sacrifice? >> my first date was with a satanic ritual. >> did bill maher pay you to play his show? again, as i painstakingly detail in the book, it was a different time in my life and perhaps i was a little too candid for television, but my goal wasn't to go on the show just for the sake of going on national television. i went on the show to try to reach a younger audience with a message that, you know, when i was 16, by the way, this was 25 years ago, you know, i, too, was trying to find my way in the world. and ultimately i did. and you know, people have said do you regret making those comments, and i go into detail about what my thinking was. but the more self-inflicted wound was how we chose to respond. and the ad was a big mistake. >> that brings me -- yeah, that brings me -- >> oh, don't tell me you're going to play that ad. >> i'm afraid we are. >> oh. >> let's have a look at how you made a small problem ten times worse. >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. none of us are perfect, but none of us can be happy with what we see all around us. politicians who think spending, trading favors and back room deals are the ways to stay in office. i'll go to washington and do what you do. i'm christine o'donnell, and i approve this message. i'm you. >> you see, the weird thing to me watching those two clips is on the first clip you seem like a fairly naive, if you don't mind me saying, slightly silly young woman who's having a bit of fun about witchcraft