On the April 12 edition of MSNBC News Live, MSNBC political analyst Craig Crawford said that he had appeared on the Imus in the Morning program “nearly 70 [times] in the last three years” and asserted: "[I]f more people had listened to the whole context of this man's show, they would see a broader picture." On the April 4 edition of Imus in the Morning, Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” after executive producer Bernard McGuirk called the team “hard-core hos.” As Media Matters for America documented, Imus' remark was part of a long history of racial slurs made on the show by him, his guests, and regular contributors.
On April 11, NBC News announced that it was dropping MSNBC's simulcast of Imus in the Morning in the wake of the controversy. Then on April 12, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves announced that CBS -- which owns both the radio station that broadcast Imus' program and Westwood One, which syndicated the program -- had fired Imus and would cease broadcasting his radio show.
Speaking generally, Crawford acknowledged that Imus' program would often “get into some of these trouble spots,” and added of the specific incident: "[I]t wasn't a case of hateful speech. I didn't think it was out of malice. I think they were trying to be shocking, trying to be goofy. It was silly." Crawford further stated that he “tuned ... out” the derogatory aspects of the show: "[I]n the segments I was in, we never got into any of the trouble areas that he obviously had. And I was aware some of that other stuff was going on. I actually tuned a lot of it out and maybe got numb to it."
From the 3 p.m. hour of the April 12 edition of MSNBC News Live:
MIKA BRZEZINSKI (anchor): Imus has been rude and crude for years. And why did it feel OK to appear on his show? Was his behavior just accepted up until now?
CRAWFORD: Well, for me personally, Mika, I enjoyed talking to the man. I got up at 6, sometimes 5:30, 4:30, 3:30 on the West Coast --
BRZEZINSKI : Wow.
CRAWFORD: -- to talk to him in the morning many times, nearly 70 in the last three years because I enjoyed talking to the man. He's an iconoclast who -- we talked about all kinds of things, usually a lot of personal stuff. The last time I was on, we talked for about 10 minutes about my electric razor, but we also talked about serious things. And in the segments I was in, we never got into any of the trouble areas that he obviously had. And I was aware some of that other stuff was going on. I actually tuned a lot of it out and maybe got numb to it, but I think there will be a hole right here on MSNBC and here in Washington with his absence because he was able to bring a dialogue, a discussion about issues and newsmakers, got things out of them. He was a great interviewer. I would say on balance the things I liked about the man -- I just overlooked the things that did make me a little nervous.
BRZEZINSKI : And that's what I wonder about, Craig, because a lot of people did. A lot of people got a lot of airtime on his show. They sold books. Maybe even you did.
CRAWFORD: I did.
BRZEZINSKI : Did it make you feel uncomfortable when you knew about those trouble spots? You maybe heard some of the things he said to people?
CRAWFORD: Well, I have the view, Mika, that you know, when -- in the comedy context, the skits they would do, and a lot of the other -- in the sports commentaries, where they also would get into some of these trouble spots, that it wasn't a case of hateful speech. I didn't think it was out of malice. I think they were trying to be shocking, trying to be goofy. It was silly. It was sophomoric, a lot of it. And entertaining to a lot of people. I got to tell you, I would travel around the country, and, yes, I did sell a lot of books thanks to Imus. And I met a lot of Imus fans around the country doing book signings and speeches so on. And many of them I would talk to would say, “You know, I sort of wish they wouldn't do that other stuff.”
BRZEZINSKI : Yeah.
CRAWFORD: Some of his biggest fans would say that. But there was a core entertainment value and information that came out of that show that kept people coming back.
BRZEZINSKI : Well, let me ask you this, though, Craig. Let's just try and be as transparent as we can. NBC put him on the air. You appeared on the show along with many others. Is there, I don't know, a bit of hypocrisy here? Why is it so surprising and shocking now that Imus is rude and insulting to all sorts of people?
CRAWFORD: I don't think it -- well, here's how I'm seeing this week, Mika, is a lot of the people who are so -- so critical didn't actually listen to the show. I mean, even the captain of the basketball team at Rutgers said she hadn't listened to the show. I mean, and I really believe that had more people -- if more people had listened to the whole context of this man's show, they would see a broader picture.
BRZEZINSKI : Fair enough. Craig Crawford, thank you very much.