Accused of bigoted statements, radio shock jock Don Imus get a new soapbox, but can he contain his nastiness? Or is that what he was hired for?
By Stacey Silberman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/1/07 – Deflated radio shock jock Don Imus has crawled back into the radio arena after signing a new deal with Citadel Broadcasting Corp. Wednesday. The infamous defamer is set to hit the airwaves of WABC-AM, the flagship station in New York, acquired by Citadel last year when it bought Walt Disney Co.’s Radio station assets. He will start work on December 3, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The CBS Radio talk show “Imus in the Morning” was abruptly cancelled in April after he lambasted the mostly black Rutgers female college basketball team, calling the innocent young women “nappy-headed hos.” The term is a racially motivated phrase that refers to the black curly hair of African Americans combined with the slang word for whores.
Although Imus later apologized, it was not enough for angry leaders of numerous groups who found his words hateful and unacceptable under any circumstances. And this was not the first time that Imus attacked the African American community.
The National Association of Black Journalists said Imus had a longstanding history of making racial insults on his shock jock program. At one point, he referred to journalist Gwen Ifill of the Public Broadcasting Service as a “cleaning lady,” reported Reuters.
He also referred to columnist William Rhoden of the New York Times as the “quota hire.”
However, Imus is an equal opportunity slanderer. He has insulted many individuals who have angered him for one reason or another, including his son’s former nanny. The nanny wound up suing him in 2004 after he unfairly referred to her as a “terrorist” on air, after abruptly firing the woman.
Following that suit was another from his son’s pediatrician in 2005. Imus was taken to court for defamation of character after he called the man “one of the worst doctors in the world” during his widely heard morning show.
But, the real denouncement came in 1996 during the Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner that included a “fairly tasteless” thrashing of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary. He did this at a public function while the President and his wife awkwardly looked on.
However, rude or not, his salary is in the neighborhood of $5 million, with the possibility of more cash upon syndication, a source told WSJ.
At least he suffered the humiliation of a pay cut after the Rutgers debacle. Imus made upwards of $10 million at CBS, including syndication profits.
Hopefully Mr. Imus will mind his manners just a little this time around.
The National Association of Black Journalist has already objected to Imus’ return to his radio platform, which reaches huge numbers of listeners each month.
If he’s not careful this time, he may end up in the doghouse, along with fellow brute Dog the Bounty Hunter, also accused of racist remarks.