Media Matters' statement on Dr. Laura ending her radio show
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, August 17, 2010 |
CONTACT Jess Levin (202) 772-8162 |
Washington, DC -- Today, Media Matters for America President Eric Burns issued the following statement in response to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's announcement that she would be ending her radio show when her contract expires in January due to the controversy surrounding her racially charged rant:
"Dr. Laura's radio career ended in disgrace tonight because of the bigoted, ugly and hateful remarks made on her show. Americans have had enough. Listeners are now holding hosts, affiliates, and sponsors accountable for the offensive and inexcusable content on the airwaves."
BACKGROUND
On August 12, Media Matters posted full audio and transcript of Schlessinger's rant, which had apparently been expunged from her website. We also documented her history of incendiary remarks. Schlessinger became the subject of a firestorm of media coverage. She responded by slamming the media that "rebroadcast" her rant.
On August 16, Media Matters released a joint statement with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Women's Media Center, and UNITY Journalists of Color, condemning Schlessingers comments and stating that "This week, we will hold these advertisers accountable and find out exactly where they stand." Today, Motel 6 announced that in the wake of her comments, it would be severing its relationship with the radio host.
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Hopefully this marks the start of a trend.
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I love free speech, and the MARKET has spoken.Your text to link here...
This is something many white people just don't understand. Every day Black folks get it rubbed in their respective faces that they are Black.
Yet when they bring it up, these clueless people like Dr. Laura say "Hey - what's the big deal? Get over it. We're beyond race."
No, we're not.
I remember one of the single most appalling comments Schlesinger made about 4-5 years ago. A woman called her for advice about whether to have an early termination of a pregnancy (for serious reasons which I cannot remember just now). Without question, the woman was in great emotional pain. Schlessinger went nuts. She screamed at the woman that, if she could, she (Schlessinger) would personally rip out the woman's UTERUS and OVARIES with her bare hands and jump up and down on her stomach. It was one of the most vile, horrifying, terrifying responses to a woman in crisis that I ever heard.
With the rampant battering and murder of women every day by intimate partners, Schlessinger gave her approval to ripping open a woman's abdomen and gutting her, tearing out her ovaries and uterus. I felt strongly that Schlessinger should have been arrested for making such a statement on the public airways. I complained vehemently to the local radio station, and her program was terminated shortly after that---moved to a more right-wing station.
I celebrate that Schlessinger---a fraud and hate monger--has finally dug her own grave. Hallelujah.
Wow... she actually said that? And, to think, I didn't have much respect for her before, but the fact that she would utter that kind of disgusting rhetoric is beyond amazing, and I can't even see how this woman stayed on the air as long as she did. What an utterly vile individual you have to be to say that to someone of the same sex as you, who is going through legitimate pain.