Now with video (see bottom) Warning: Bad words that will make you cry.
Er, I don’t know what this is about in any detail, but here’s the breaking story:
STATEMENT OF AIR AMERICA RADIO, FROM CHAIR CHARLIE KIREKER
By air americaFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 3, 2008New York – Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.
“Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts,” said chair Charlie Kireker.
Some more from radio trade magazine RadioInk:
Air America Suspends Rhodes
NEW YORK — April 3, 2008: Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has been suspended for what the network called “inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco.”At the event, sponsored by Clear Channel Air America affiliate KKGN/San Francisco, Rhodes referred to Clinton as a “f***ing whore” and said the same about Geraldine Ferraro.
Air America Chair Charlie Kireker said in a statement, “Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.”
More as this story develops.
More from the New York Times “The Caucus” political blog:
April 3, 2008, 2:20 pm
Air America Host Suspended for Clinton Remarks
By Brian StelterRandi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the progressive Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Hillary Rodham Clinton at an event last month.
Ms. Rhodes used vulgar language that likened Ms. Clinton to a prostitute at an event sponsored by KKGN, the Air America affiliate in the San Francisco area, on March 22. A video of Ms. Rhodes’ remarks was published to the video-sharing Web site YouTube on Tuesday, prompting condemnations by some bloggers.
In a statement, Charlie Kireker, the chair of Air America, said the radio network “encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our hosts.”
The network called Ms. Rhodes’ suspension “indefinite” and did not elaborate on the fate of her daily three-hour radio show. “The Randi Rhodes Show” is normally broadcast from 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Sam Seder, another Air America host, was scheduled to fill in for Ms. Rhodes on Thursday.
On the video, Ms. Rhodes is also shown using derogatory language to describe Geraldine Ferraro, a former Congresswoman and a supporter of Ms. Clinton. Ms. Ferraro resigned from a committee of Ms. Clinton’s campaign last month after making controversial remarks about Barack Obama….
Interesting. The righties are all over this. The lefties seem dazed. Here’s the top Google News stories in the first hour or so of coverage:
Randi Rhodes Suspended; Calls Hillary ‘Big F—ing Whore’
NewsBusters – 16 minutes agoBrian Maloney at Radio Equalizer has a breaking story: An unhinged tirade by Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has led to an unprecedented suspension from …
Air America Suspends Rhodes
Streaming Magazine, FL – 32 minutes agoNEW YORK — April 3, 2008: Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has been suspended for what the network called “inappropriate statements about prominent …
Air America Host Suspended for Calling Clinton, Ferraro ‘F*****g …
FOXNews – 41 minutes agoby FOXNews.com Air America radio has suspended talk show host Randi Rhodes for calling Hillary Clinton and Clinton supporter Geraldine Ferraro each “a big …
Air America Host Suspended for Clinton Remarks
New York Times Blogs, NY – 53 minutes agoBy Brian Stelter Randi Rhodes, an afternoon host for the progressive Air America radio network, was suspended Thursday after repeatedly insulting Hillary …
This just in:
National Review Online Blogs, NY – 1 hour agoNew York – Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton …
Barack Obama Says Al Gore Could Play a Big Role in His Presidency …
BuzzFlash, IL – 7 hours agoAnd as Randi Rhodes has quoted Bill Clinton as saying: In primaries voters fall in love; in general elections, they fall in line. Gore should be president. …
So how come the Righties are on top of stories like this way ahead of Lefties? Shouldn’t we be taking some note of this phenomenon? Intel is as valuable for its accuracy as for its speed.
Oh, and here’s trenchant analysis from Bemidji State U’s favorite alumnus (See “April’s Fools,” 1 April 08) at NewsBusters (“Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias”):
Randi Rhodes Suspended; Calls Hillary ‘Big F—ing Whore’
By Tim Graham | April 3, 2008 – 15:01 ETSome comments are even too shocking for the hard-left managers of Air America. Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer has a breaking story:
An unhinged tirade by Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has led to an unprecedented suspension from the network, according to its new management and several left- wing websites. This is a breaking story with details still emerging.
In a rant so salty it could make a sailor blush, Rhodes repeatedly called Hillary a “big f***ing whore”, to both cheers and jeers from the audience. The afternoon drive talker was there on behalf of Air America at an event sponsored by the local affiliate….
And here’s the Huffington Post, which BS University’s biggest beaver bloviator cribs from:
Air America Host Randi Rhodes Suspended For Calling Hillary A “Big F*cking Whore” Huffington Post | April 3, 2008 12:47 PM
This Story is Surging on Digg Right Now
Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton “whores” in a recent appearance, seen below. Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, “What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is! She’s such a fucking whore!” She then proceeded to say, “Hillary is a big fucking whore, too” to a mixed audience reaction. “You know why she’s a big fucking whore? Because her deal is always, ‘Read the fine print, asshole!’”
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfdhWi5MILo
Update: Rhodes has been now been suspended from the network. Air America released the following statement: [see above - HW]
And here’s the video. You be the judge.
Courage.
=======
UPDATE 1:52 PM PDT: My comment at the Boston Herald blogsite:
Er … turns out it’s a whole lot more complicated than the whole “gotcha” swarm would have you believe. Rhodes was booked at a club, where she did a standup comedy set 45 minutes in length, 5 minutes of which are on YouTube. Then there’s the little matter of censoring a radio host for their remarks off the air.
Has the whole country devolved into a hysterical mob shrieking over sound bites and YouTube clips? Is this some kind of media version of LORD OF THE FLIES?
Is this any way to run the world’s most powerful democracy? Hysteria in the junior high school bathroom? If you’d come from another planet, you’d swear that there wasn’t a single adult mind left in the country.
The same mentality that condemns the “bad language” is the mentality that scrawls it on bathroom stalls.
UPDATE #2: According to creepy Rightie smearmeister The Radio Equalizer,
Consider this: the incident occurred two full weeks ago, on 22 March. What explains the delay in her removal? Certainly, there wasn’t a public controversy to deal with, almost no one not in attendance that night even knew about it.
If true, WHY is this “breaking” news? Curiouser and curiouser.
6 Comments
3 April 2008 at 1:15 pm
randi may be right, but if the gig was AA-sponsored, she was essentially at work. And her bosses are well within their rights to decide whether they want employees talking like that at work.
3 April 2008 at 2:41 pm
More to the point, she’s either working “at will” – so they can fire her for saying anything anytime anywhere, whether at work or not…. or she’s working under a talent contract (more likely), which likely has things like morals clauses in it.
3 April 2008 at 2:47 pm
On the one hand I can see why they suspended her. But on the other hand… c’mon! This is Randi Rhodes we’re talkin’ about. Of course she’s gonna do some trash talkin’.
Seems to me that this suspension is more about the concern about political pressure from Clintonistas than it is about anything else.
3 April 2008 at 7:56 pm
Point taken.
But there is a more fundamental contradiction here, coming from a “network” formed in response to the hatespeak and radio monopoly of the Right. I think, in the long run, it’s going to just be an embarrassing, wounding mess for all concerned, while the jackals of the Reich howl on the sidelines about “PC.” And they won’t be entirely wrong. (See 3/26 entry on this phenomenon.)
I guess I’m not so quick to throw any ally under the bus. You should see the New York Times‘ “The Caucus” blog for that. The comments are astonishingly evil, snarky, etc. and they don’t even know what they’re talking about. Just a “Rush” to judgment.
On the other hand, here’s MY NYT comment that there is a much larger issue at stake here:
Does anyone else notice the eerie similarities between this takedown and the takedown of Reverend Jeremiah Wright?
Cull a short clip out of a much longer piece, from a NON-news time past. Spread virally via YouTube. Sit back and watch the jackals feed. Amateur AND professional jackals, BTW.
Like “Leonard” says in North By Northwest: “Call it my “woman’s intuition” if you will, but I’ve never trusted neatness. Neatness is always the result of deliberate planning.”
3 April 2008 at 8:32 pm
Randi Rhodes called Hillary Clinton a ‘Big F**king Whore’. Now you can get it on Shirts, Stickers, Hats, Buttons, Mugs and More from BFW. MySh*tSucks
Mr. Williams replies: I’ve taken down their spamming link. When I referred to jackals (carrion feeders) I hadn’t expected a visit from literal internet carrion feeders. Just shows the American worship of the Almighty Dollar — how quickly the vultures move when they see wounded or dying prey. I’m going to leave this obscene tripe up as a bit of historicity, a reminder of just how low the American Dream has sunk, and the maggots that currently inhabit it.
10 April 2008 at 1:06 pm
[...] proof that irony lives is that it’s the very same Air America affiliate that sponsored the off-air rant that got her in so much trouble in the first place. She’s [...]
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