Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders spar on abortion and debates

NEW YORK, April 2 (UPI) -- Actress Rosario Dawson, who is supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential campaign, offered a sarcastic takedown of his opponent, Hillary Clinton, telling her "shame on you" for attacking Sanders' record on abortion and ducking a debate.

Dawson, speaking at a rally in New York on Thursday, attacked Clinton for her comments critical of Sanders. Clinton had said Sanders was wrong to suggest the media give Republican front-runner Donald Trump's controversial comments on abortion less attention, implying she was the candidate who would most stand up to Trump.

"There is this rumor out there that because he's saying we're giving Trump too much time on the airwaves and we need to stop feeding into that hate and talking about the issues, that he doesn't care about women's issues," Dawson said. "Shame on you, Hillary."

Dawson went on to tweak Clinton saying: "I'm sorry, hold on, let me watch me tone."

The remark was in reference to Clinton's campaign saying they would only debate Sanders if he "toned down" his attacks on the former secretary of state.

On Saturday, Clinton's campaign pushed back on the debate issue, saying they have proposed three dates to hold the debate and the Sanders campaign has rejected all three.

"The Sanders campaign needs to stop with the games," Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said. "The Sanders campaign needs to stop using the New York primary as a playground for political games and negative attacks against Hillary Clinton. The voters of New York deserve better."

The Sanders campaign shot back, saying the debate should be held after Wisconsin votes on Tuesday. The first date Clinton proposed was Monday, which would have conflicted with the NCAA national title game, leading to lower ratings, especially in New York, where the Syracuse Orange have made the Final Four.

"Unfortunately, the dates and venues [Clinton] has proposed don't make a whole lot of sense," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs responded in a statement. "The idea that they want a debate in New York on a night of the NCAA finals -- with Syracuse in the tournament, no less -- is ludicrous. We have proposed other dates, which they have rejected. We hope we can reach agreement in the near future."