Saturday, May 17, 2008

Kidd Chris Fired for Racist Song

This isn't political correctness run amok.

A truly offensive song aired on WYSP-FM in Philadelphia, resulting in the firing of the station's morning host and program director.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- CBS Corp. fired a radio host and a radio station's program director over a racist song that was performed on the air in March.

The song played on WYSP-FM during host Kidd Chris' morning show was "highly offensive and completely inappropriate for broadcast on our airwaves," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said in a statement Friday. "When senior management of the station learned that it had been played, they took immediate steps to prevent it from ever appearing on the station again."

The Philadelphia Daily News reported on its Web site Friday that it had obtained a transcription of the song's lyrics, which derided blacks and included numerous racial slurs.

Kidd Chris, whose real name is Chris Foley, has previously worked in Sacramento, Calif., and San Antonio, among other cities, according to his Web site. His Los Angeles-based agent, Bob Eatman, did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press on Friday.

The song was performed in the studio on March 21 by a guest who goes by the name Lady Gash. It was played several more times that day and at least once after that.

Later, it was posted on YouTube, but on Friday afternoon the video-sharing Web site said the video was "no longer available due to a copyright claim by CBS Broadcasting Inc."

Mateo confirmed that WYSP program director John Cook also was fired, but she declined to comment further. She also declined to comment on the status of Kidd Chris' contract, which has three years remaining.

More--
94 WYSP morning host Kidd Chris has been fired over a racist song performed by an in-studio guest in March. WYSP program director John Cook also lost his job over the fallout from the song "Schwoogies," sung to the tune of Blondie's "Call Me," that was performed March 21 in studio by a guest named Lady Gash.

"We found the song to be highly offensive and completely inappropriate for broadcast on our airwaves. When senior management of the station learned that it had been played, they took immediate steps to prevent it from ever appearing on the station again," CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo told us moments ago. "At the same time, we launched an extensive internal investigation into the situation including a thorough review of the editorial controls and systems we have in place to prevent this type of content from airing. We instituted additional educational training for the station, and have taken appropriate disciplinary action, including termination of the individuals involved."

It was not an overreaction to fire Kidd Chris and John Cook for this.

Listen to the audio, courtesy LiveLeak.

The song's lyrics are downright shocking.

On her MySpace page, Lady Gash identified herself as "The soundtrack of the Kidd Chris show."



The objectionable lyrics:

"Coloreds steal your wallets and coloreds have pink feet. Coloreds are loud and obnoxious, when they watch movies. Sticky fingers, what they are, Always try to jack my car, Shwoogies! Or shines, you can call them anything you like. Shwoogies! Watch out, jigs will rob you, day or night. Shwoogies. Mookie doesn't like to work, Just rolls blunts all day long. But there's one job he can do, hold a lantern on my lawn. If someone else has your watch on, you can bet its a moolignon. Shwoogies! All Around, there's Sambos, monkeys, knuckle draggers, So much brown Mandingo, Go Mr. Bojangles (unintelligible). I have no problem singing about the Negroes."

Unbelievable.

I'm surprised it took nearly two months for Kidd Chris and John Cook to get the axe for this.

I guess senior management doesn't know what's going on in the morning.

Wasn't there immediate outrage when the song first aired way back in March?

I would have expected there to be massive protests. The station should have been bombarded with calls and e-mails.

If it was, management was extremely slow to react.

7 comments:

madhp@aol.com said...

its comedy people get over it

Mary said...

Yes, comedy at a KKK rally.

Obviously, management had to fire those involved in playing the song repeatedly. The station stood to lose all of its advertising without taking that action, and rightly so.

Anonymous said...

that is so true they can say whatever they like about us white people or any other race but when we say a joke about them its racist and then they bring up slavery...well you know what stop living in the past because they werent the ones to go through it.. it was their ancestors...soo tell these fuckers to hulk the fuck up and to learn how to work because this kidd chris firing is total bullshit.....what black person would have heard this on WYSP anyway...i thought they were phillys rock station not the beat

Mary said...

First, I don't think anyone's career is ruined. Kidd Chris will be back on radio. The program director will find another job. That's how these things always work out.

You're right about some of the things said in all seriousness at NAACP meetings. I also agree that there's a double standard when it comes to racial talk.

That said, the song was too much for any commercial station to air with impunity and completely inappropriate for broadcast.

What I find troubling is the repeated airings of the song.

Money is the bottom line. Advertisers would bolt from the station if WYSP didn't take action.

Anonymous said...

It is comedy and it was funny. Of course its not going to be funny to blacks but some of there comedy isnt funny to us either. Stuff like him getting fired just angers us and makes us resent blacks because they can say whatever they want in those awful rap songs but we cant say a darn thing i live near philly and a lot the things in the song are true!

Mary said...

I don't think it was funny.

Anonymous said...

You´re only mad because she speaks the truth.

You living in a dreamworld.