Imusimus Videos

While acknowledging that it was not "OK" for him to refer to the Rutgers University women s basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," Don Imus asserted on the April 10 edition of his show, MSNBC s Imus in the Morning, and on NBC s Today show that the phrase "originated in the black community." Specifically, he stated: "I may be a white man, but I know that ... young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected ... by their own black men and that they are called that name." Those comments -- and his assertion, during the same show, that "there s a lot of stuff that we can do, but at some point, I stop playing" -- stand in contrast with the contrition he purported to express the day before. On the April 9 edition of the show, Imus acknowledged that his comments were especially objectionable because he mocked a specific group of young women who he said didn t "deserve it." Imus has a long history of ad hominem slurs that target race, ethnicity, and sex. On the April 9 edition of his program, Imus said that he "learned" from this incident that "you can t make fun of everybody because some people don t deserve it." Nonetheless, Imus brought up the purported origin of the term "hos" on the April 10 edition of Imus and during an April 10 discussion -- simulcast on MSNBC -- with Today co-host Matt Lauer and Rev. Al Sharpton. On Today, Sharpton objected to Imus point regarding the origin of the phrase, saying, "We have said that we are against the degrading that is done even by blacks. ... Wherever he says this originated from does not give him the right to use it." After the discussion concluded, Imus claimed on his program that Sharpton had misrepresented his remarks. Imus asserted that he did not say that he "should be cut slack because these young women are disparaged and demeaned and disrespected by young black men and others in their own community," but he also did not explain the significance of his repeated assertion that "nappy-headed hos" "originated in the black community." On April 10, the Associated Press noted Imus remarks on Today and reported that he had "tried to shift some of the focus from himself." As Media Matters for America noted, on April 9, NBC News and CBS Radio both announced they will suspend Imus for two weeks, beginning April 16. From the April 9 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning: IMUS: Does that mean that it s OK for me to say what I said about these Rutgers women? I hope you don t think that because I don t think that. So, I m going to go talk to these women, if they ll let me, and tell them what I ve just told you. And what have I learned from this? Because Reverend DeForest Soaries [senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens] said, "I want you to tell me what you ve learned." Here s what I ve learned: That you can t make fun of everybody because some people don t deserve it and because the climate on this program has been what it s been for 30 years doesn t mean that it has to be that way for the next five years or whatever. Because that has to change so -- and I understand that. From the April 10 edition of Imus in the Morning: IMUS: But I have some good ideas, and they may work and they may not. I think they will work, so -- except -- by the way, though, I was just talking about [WFAN operations director Mark] Chernoff, who I ve talked about for years, so -- CHARLES McCORD: Oh, I -- well aware. IMUS: Because this phrase that I used didn t originate -- it originated in the black community. That didn t give me a right to use it, but that s where it originated. McCORD: Absolutely: IMUS: Well, who calls who that and why? Now, we need to know that. I need to know that. The white people, all of them kind of -- there are many African-Americans by the way who listen to the program, many. From the April 10 edition of NBC s Today: SHARPTON: I will certainly call on them this morning -- presidential candidates as well as politicians. They should not go on his show, but I hope that we will not have a show for them to go back on. LAUER: Let me bring Don Imus back in on this. Don, first of all, you said you re going to meet -- you would like to meet with the Rutgers University players. What exactly would you say to them? IMUS: Well, we made extraordinary efforts both over the air and officially through members of the religious community in New Jersey and the academic community at Rutgers and through -- privately -- through people who know people who are trying to see if these young women will allow me to come out and apologize to them. And I am going to apologize to them and ask them for their forgiveness. I don t expect that, and I don t think they have any obligation to either forgive me or to accept my apology, but I have a responsibility to -- and I think it s important. And everybody can say that context is not important, but in every aspect of our lives, it is. And I want these young women to know that I didn t say this out of anger, and that I didn t say this out of meanness, and I didn t -- I didn t turn my microphone on and say, "This is what I think of the young women of Rutgers," and believe me, I know that that phrase didn t originate in the white community. That phrase originated in the black community, and I -- I m not stupid. I may be a white man, but I know that these young women and young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by the -- by their own black men and that they are called that name, and I know that the -- and that doesn t give me, obviously, any right to say it, but it doesn t give them any right to say it. LAUER: Don -- we made a -- SHARPTON: Well, I -- LAUER: -- well, let me just say, we kind of agreed here that we wouldn t make this a debate back and forth, Don, but would you mind if I allowed Reverend Sharpton to comment on that because he s sitting -- IMUS: I talked to Reverend Sharpton yesterday for two hours, Matt, and I told [NBC News senior Vice President] Phil Griffin [who oversees Today] and everybody else, that I didn t intend to -- [...] IMUS: I told Phil, I told everybody else that I had no intention of debating him on his program, if he didn t have the same kind of courage that I had. Now, I walked into that studio by myself. [...] SHARPTON: Two things: One is that is not about courage to appear on his show. I could not tell people to don t watch him, don t listen to him, don t appear, and then go myself. I m not in the business of creating an audience for him. And I said if he wanted to meet in public, he could come to my show. He opted to do that. But the second point: We have said that we are against the degrading that is done even by blacks. I have led protests on shows on that and will continue to do that, but that does not excuse him. Wherever he says this originated from does not give him the right to use it. We should fight all that use it. From the April 10 edition of Imus in the Morning: LAUER: I know we re simulcast on MSNBC, so thanks for your airtime as well. IMUS: You re welcome. LAUER: All right, and -- [end video clip] IMUS: Twenty minutes after the hour here on the Imus in the Morning program on the radio around the country and on MSNBC, so -- well, I didn t say that. I mean, you know -- see, that s the problem. That s not what I said -- that I should be cut slack because these young women are disparaged and demeaned and disrespected by young black men and others in their own community. That s not what I said. So -- and what did Matt do? Let him get by with it, which is what I told Phil Griffin, and these other people. I said, you know, "Don t, Matt" -- I said, "Well, the reason I m not going to go on there and debate Al Sharpton and Matt Lauer is because Matt is by -- for whatever reason, is going to be on Reverend Sharpton s side, just whether he is or not."

On the April 10 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus, discussing the decision by MSNBC and CBS Radio to suspend the broadcast of his program for two weeks beginning April 16 in light of the controversy surrounding comments he made about the Rutgers University women s basketball team, said that "there s a lot of stuff that we can do, but at some point, I stop playing." Imus added that he doesn t "deserve to be fired" but that he "should be punished." He ended the segment by saying, "I m not whining, because I don t feel as bad as those kids feel, and I ve said that several times. But, I m not going to play forever." Media Matters for America noted Imus April 4 comments -- in which he called the Rutgers women s basketball team "nappy-headed hos" -- at the time, as well as his subsequent apology two days later. However, as Media Matters noted at the time of Imus apology, his remarks about the Rutgers team are just the latest in a long history of racial slurs -- not merely generic remarks, but smears of particular individuals -- by him, his guests, and regular contributors on the show. From the April 10 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning: IMUS: And I m going to go talk with the women at Rutgers if I can. And then I m going to serve my suspension, and then I will come back and we will make this a better program, and we will make me a better person so that while I say I m a good person, I did say that -- and it s irrelevant whether or not I was trying to be funny. I mean, where did I think that was all right to make fun of --? So, and there s a lot of stuff that we can do, but at some point, I stop playing. So I don t deserve to be fired. And I am not going to be fired without consequences. So, I should be punished and I m being punished and not insignificantly, by the way. I m not whining, because I don t feel as bad as those kids feel, and I ve said that several times. But, I m not going to play forever.

Referring to host Don Imus April 4 comments on MSNBC s Imus in the Morning -- in which the radio host referred to the Rutgers women s basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" -- and the controversy that ensued, Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant began his appearance on the April 9 edition of Imus in the Morning by stating: "Good morning, Mr. Imus, and solidarity forever, by the way." Oliphant also referred to political pundits like himself who appear on the show as Imus "constituency." During the interview, Oliphant related a discussion he had with New York Times reporter David Carr, who wrote an April 7 article about the controversy, saying that Carr "calls up, and the first question he asks me is, Are you thinking about not appearing on Imus? And for once in my life, I answered a direct question with a direct answer. I said, No, I m not. " Oliphant described Carr s questions as "a cute little trick to see if your constituency would falter" and said he was "very happy to say no." Oliphant also said that "those journalistic giants at Fox News are wondering how your regular posse could possibly appear, and the answer is, It s simple: We know you. " While purporting to "know" Imus, Oliphant apparently disregarded Imus history and that of his executive producer, Bernard McGuirk -- as well as frequent guest and former Imus sportscaster Sid Rosenberg -- of making racially insensitive and incendiary remarks, which Media Matters for America has extensively documented. Later in his appearance, Oliphant asserted, "I don t know beans about hip-hop culture or trash-talking, or what do you call those things where you run on forever? Riffs, or whatever. But even I could see the beginning of what appeared to me to be a riff. And the train went off the tracks, which, you know, can happen to anybody." Oliphant added that "what counts when the train goes off the tracks is what you then do." Oliphant s train-off-the-tracks comment echoed remarks earlier in the program by Newsweek columnist Howard Fineman, who said of Imus show, "[T]he form of humor that you do here is risky, and sometimes it runs off the rails." Oliphant concluded his appearance by restating, "[T]hose of us who, through an accident, were scheduled [to be on the April 9 broadcast], who know better, have a moral obligation to stand up and say to you, Solidarity forever, pal. " From the April 9 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning: IMUS: Good morning, Mr. Oliphant. OLIPHANT: Good morning, Mr. Imus, and solidarity forever, by the way. IMUS: Thank you. OLIPHANT: That s pretty easy. You know, I don t know if you know this, but yesterday, The New York Times tried to put me and [Newsweek assistant managing editor] Evan Thomas -- who was on earlier -- on the spot. Did you know that? IMUS: No, sir. OLIPHANT: This guy -- David Carr, who writes a pretty good media column on Mondays -- IMUS: Right. OLIPHANT: -- calls up, and the first question he asks me is, "Are you thinking about not appearing on Imus?" And for once in my life, I answered a direct question with a direct answer. I said, "No, I m not." And he says, "Well, why not?" And I said, "Because, being the world s most boring person, I had taken the trouble to go all the way though this episode from about two minutes before you said what you said last Wednesday, and then all the way through the statement you made spontaneously on Thursday and then the more prepared one you made on Friday, and I said that s it. That took care of it as far as I m concerned." And -- but it was a cute little trick to see if your constituency would falter, and I was very happy to say no. IMUS: Well, I appreciate that. I don t think your loyalty is misguided or that I am -- OLIPHANT: No. IMUS: -- unworthy of it, but I do. OLIPHANT: Well, you know, one of the things that you re condemned to do in my racket is if you know something in a situation like this, you have a moral obligation to say so. And this is one of those occasions where, as you said earlier, fairness and accuracy and context matter. And what -- for what it s worth, what I really appreciated was the fact that, No. 1, you understood how important it was to get across to those wonderful athletes on the Rutgers basketball team what was really in your heart. And secondly, I have this understanding that you understand the really dangerous moment in these episodes. And, you know, I m thinking of, you know, an 8-year-old black kid being driven to school by his dad or mom who hears this and wonders what he just heard. And it s in that initial hurt that all these problems begin to show up. And so what I told David Carr was I didn t think for a second like that. You should also know that your -- our good friends, those journalistic giants at Fox News, are wondering how your regular posse could possibly appear, and the answer is, "It s simple: We know you." [...] OLIPHANT: What I thought would be instructive for people is to go back on the tape to a minute or so before this happens and see if you can see it developing. Now, believe me, as you well know, I don t know beans about hip-hop culture or trash-talking, or what do you call those things where you run on forever? Riffs, or whatever. But even I could see the beginning of what appeared to me to be a riff. And the train went off the tracks, which, you know, can happen to anybody. And, of course, what counts when the train goes off the tracks is what you then do. And that s why I, you know, didn t have a moment s hesitation talking to this guy from The New York Times yesterday. Of course I didn t think about reacting like that because I saw the whole episode in context, including your statements about it. [...] IMUS: A lot of friends of mine called, but I didn t want to put up -- put anybody on this morning who wasn t scheduled, because I can make my own case, and it is what it is. OLIPHANT: But to me, that only means that those of us who, through an accident, were scheduled, who know better, have a moral obligation to stand up and say to you, "Solidarity forever, pal." IMUS: Thank you, Tom. OLIPHANT: Anytime.

After reportedly defending his April 4 description of the Rutgers University women s basketball team, which is comprised of eight African-American and two white players, as "nappy-headed hos," on the April 6 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus apologized for the remark. Imus called his comments "insensitive and ill-conceived," adding that "[i]t was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended." He further called the comments "thoughtless and stupid." Media Matters for America noted Imus initial comments at the time. According to an April 5 article on Imus comments on the WNBC website, "Imus said people should relax and not worry about some idiot comment meant to be amusing. " From the April 6 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning: IMUS: Want to take a moment to apologize for an insensitive and ill-conceived remark we made the other morning referring to the Rutgers women s basketball team. It was completely inappropriate, and we can understand why people were offended. Our characterization was thoughtless and stupid, so, and we re sorry.

On the April 4 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus referred to the Rutgers University women s basketball team, which is comprised of eight African-American and two white players, as "nappy-headed hos" immediately after the show s executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, called the team "hard-core hos." Later, former Imus sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, who was filling in for sportscaster Chris Carlin, said: "The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the [National Basketball Association s] Toronto Raptors." McGuirk referred to the NCAA women s basketball championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee as a "Spike Lee thing," adding, "The Jigaboos vs. The Wannabees -- that movie that he had." McGuirk was presumably referring to Lee s 1988 film, School Daze (Sony Pictures), though co-host Charles McCord misidentified it as "Do the Right Thing" (Criterion, June 1989). In a June 2, 1991, review of Lee s Jungle Fever (Universal Pictures), The New York Times described the rivalry depicted in School Daze: "School Daze," his 1988 satire on an all-black college similar to his own alma mater, Morehouse, turned the friction centered on color into a pointed burlesque. The college s women divided into two camps, the dark "Jigaboos" and the fair "Wannabees," who taunted each other in one scene with the epithets "pickaninny," "Barbie doll," "tar baby" and "high-yellow heifer." Rosenberg s comparison of the Rutgers women s basketball team to the Raptors recalled comments he made in June 2001 about Venus and Serena Williams, two African-American female professional tennis players. According to a November 20, 2001, Newsday article, Rosenberg said on the air: "One time, a friend, he says to me, Listen, one of these days you re gonna see Venus and Serena Williams in Playboy. I said, You ve got a better shot at National Geographic. " Rosenberg also referred to Venus Williams as an "animal." Media Matters for America noted those comments when Rosenberg alluded to them on the March 28 edition of Imus. Also, on the March 30 edition of Public Broadcasting Service s The Charlie Rose Show, regarding the NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament, host Charlie Rose asked CBS sportscaster Billy Packer: "Do you need a runner this Final Four? Because I could jump on a plane and I could be there." Packer replied: "You always fag out on that one for me. ... [Y]ou always say, Oh yeah, I m going to be the runner, then you never show up." In 2000, as noted by an article on ESPN.com, Packer made comments that were viewed as disparaging to women, when he said, "Since when do we let women control who gets into a men s basketball game? Why don t you go find a women s game to let people into?" Also, as noted in a March 4, 1996, article in The Washington Post, Packer "describ[ed] Georgetown guard Allen Iverson as a tough monkey during the Hoyas nationally televised game against Villanova" during that year s NCAA tournament. Packer later apologized for both comments. From the April 4 edition of MSNBC s Imus in the Morning: IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between -- a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women s final. ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night -- seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points. IMUS: That s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and -- McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos. IMUS: That s some nappy-headed hos there. I m gonna tell you that now, man, that s some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don t know. McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing. IMUS: Yeah. McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had. IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough -- McCORD: Do The Right Thing. McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah. IMUS: I don t know if I d have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right? ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors. IMUS: Well, I guess, yeah. RUFFINO: Only tougher. McGUIRK: The [Memphis] Grizzlies would be more appropriate. From the March 30 edition of PBS Charlie Rose: ROSE: Do you need a runner this Final Four? Because I could jump on a plane, and I could be there. PACKER: You always fag out on that one for me. You know, you never -- you know, you always say, "Oh yeah, I m going to be the runner," then you never show up. But I m sure they can find a place for you. You ve got all the connections in the world. You can go ahead and be a runner any place you want to.