Dr. Laura Apologizes for Shocking, N-Word Filled Radio Rant
Yesterday, Dr. Laura Schlessinger shocked her radio show audience when she argued with a black woman about racism and—among other things—said the word "nigger" six times. Today, Schlessinger apologized for her incredibly offensive rant. Audio and transcripts, inside.
Here's audio of Schlessinger's original rant, which happened during a discussion with a black female caller who thought her white husband's friends were racist (the most shocking moment of which included Schlessinger saying angrily, "Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO and listen to a black comic, and all you hear is nigger, nigger, nigger. I don't get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing. But when black people say it, it's affectionate."
Following a commercial break, Schlessinger resumed her conversation with the woman, who was upset at the host's choice of words. Here's audio of the exchange; a partial transcript will follow:
Partial transcript, via HuffPo:
CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
DR. LAURA: It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's ok.
CALLER: But you're not black, they're not black, my husband is white.
DR. LAURA: Oh, I see, so a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.
CALLER: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the n-word, and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: I didn't spew out the n-word!
CALLER: You said "nigger, nigger, nigger," and I hope everybody heard it.
DR. LAURA: Yes they did, and I'll say it again: nigger, nigger, nigger is what you hear on HBO.
[Crosstalk]
DR. LAURA: Why don't you let me finish a sentence? Don't take things out of context. Don't NAACP me, leave them in context.
Click to viewWhat a peach, that Dr. Laura! Oh, also... after her conversation with the caller ended, Schlessinger added this gem: ""If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry outside of your race."
Cut to today: Schlessinger takes to her show to issue an apology for her outburst. Again via HuffPo, here's what she had to say:
"Yesterday, I did the wrong thing," she said. "I didn't intend to hurt people, but I did. And that makes it the wrong thing to have done. I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the "n" word all the way out - more than one time. And that was wrong. I'll say it again - that was wrong."
Schlessinger said she "was so upset [she] could not finish the show."
"I pulled myself off the air at the end of the hour," she said. "I had to finish the hour, because 20 minutes of dead air doesn't work. I am very sorry. And it just won't happen again."
Too little too late?
