The Story Of A CNN Anchor Interviewing RBG Days After Giving Birth Is So Badass

Journalist Poppy Harlow knows what it’s like to be compared to “Superwoman.” But in Harlow’s story, Superwoman isn’t just wearing spandex. In case you needed any more proof that women are insanely strong, when Poppy Harlow interviewed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it was just days after giving birth (and she was wearing a post-pregnancy diaper).

Harlow, who anchors CNN Newsroom, shared her story in a recent interview with Cosmopolitan, which did an in-depth story about eight high-profile CNN anchors, correspondents, and reporters who are expecting or have given birth in the past year and a half. Cosmo’s story detailed Harlow’s RBG interview and discussed the difficulties and rewards of being a working mom in a career in which you have to move as fast as the Trump-era news cycle.

Columbia University originally invited Harlow to interview RBG three months before the conversation with the Supreme Court justice was set to take place. She told Cosmopolitan that she initially turned them down because she worried she’d be in labor on the day of the event.

“They came back to me and said, ‘Are you really saying no to interviewing a sitting Supreme Court justice?’” Harlow told Cosmo. With a backup reporter on call, Harlow said she’d do it.

The interview ended up taking place in February, only days after the birth of her son, Luca. And if that’s not impressive enough, her revelation to Cosmo about the interview shows how strong women can be in ways men can’t even fathom.

Harlow described the RBG interview to Cosmo: “I’m sitting on the stage, interviewing Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and wearing a diaper. Any woman who has had a baby will understand this. You have to wear, like, Depends after the baby is born.”

Cosmo wrote that when some people told Harlow she was “Superwoman” after the interview, she reportedly thought, “If you only knew. I tell you this at the risk of grossing people out. That is what it’s really like to try to ‘do it all.’”

In the CNN interview with Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice thanked Harlow for doing the interview so soon after giving birth. “I appreciate your being here. It’s fabulous, isn’t it, that she is here four days after the birth of her second child,” Ginsburg said to applause.

Harlow responded, “It’s an interview that I couldn’t miss, and an interview, frankly, on a personal note, that I discussed with my husband while I was pregnant: 'Can I do this should I do this? Should I do this?' Without hesitation, he said of course you should do it.”

According to her CNN profile, Harlow is a twice-Emmy nominated journalist, and has covered topics such as international business and female leaders in the workplace. She’s also been an anchor for CNN Newsroom Weekend and worked at CNNMoney.com

Harlow also detailed to Cosmo the emotional toll that having your personal life “up for public consumption” can take. Back when Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was running in December, Harlow interviewed one of his spokespeople, Janet Porter, while Harlow was eight months pregnant. Porter immediately brought up Harlow’s pregnancy, and claimed that Moore would protect “babies like yours in the womb.” Porter then alleged that Moore’s then-opponent, Doug Jones, supported “killing them.”

After some back and forth with Porter, who brought up Harlow's pregnancy once again after other questions, Harlow said: “Let’s leave my child out of this.”

Despite difficulty of having her pregnancy discussed on TV in this context, Harlow told Cosmo there’s “a lot of good” in her life as a working mom.

“I’m not having it all right now,” she told Cosmo, “but I’m having a lot of good. Not a lot of sleep, but a lot of good.”