Unclever Name
05-11-2007, 10:58 AM
You can't say that!
Outrage as guest on 'Opie' show sez he'd rape Condi & Laura
BY DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, May 11th 2007, 4:00 AM
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Anthony Cumia...
...and Gregg Hughes (Opie) apologized for latest vulgar stunt.
White House refused to 'dignify' remarks on an XM Satellite Radio show about raping Secretary of State Rice and First Lady.
Bad-boy radio hosts Opie and Anthony yesterday topped even their infamous 2002 "Sex in St. Pat's" stunt, serving up a homeless man's profane declaration that he'd like to rape Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth.
The graphic sequence on their XM Satellite Radio program showed that even in a medium with no restrictions on content, Opie and Anthony found a way to cross the line.
The actual comments were made by a guest the shock jocks call Homeless Charlie. As each woman's name came up, he said, "I'd love to f--- that b----."
They laughed as they imagined "the horror" in Rice's face and what it would be like to hold her down and punch her in the face.
The crude cracks came a month after CBS gave Don Imus the boot for calling members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed ho's."
As an audio clip spread across the Internet, XM quickly issued a condemnation. "We deplore the comments made on today's 'Opie & Anthony Show,'" said an XM spokesman.
Opie and Anthony themselves offered an apology yesterday evening:
"We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused."
At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack shook his head in disgust but declined to comment on the insult to the secretary of state. A White House spokesman declined to "dignify that with a response."
CBS Radio, where Opie and Anthony are heard earlier each morning over WFNY (92.3 FM) on a different show with much stricter content guidelines, breathed an almost audible sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, we have standards that did not, and would not, ever let something like this make our air," it said.
XM said nothing yesterday about disciplinary action, but industry observers said the offensive remarks had the potential to derail a lot more than the deejays' jobs.
XM and Sirius Satellite are seeking the Federal Communications Commission's approval for a merger. Tom Taylor, editor of the trade magazine Inside Radio, noted this could place the issue of content on the table.
"XM and Sirius don't want any regulation," he said. "But it's come up in four congressional hearings - and at this point, the merger is such a close call any issue could become important."
Opie and Anthony had "Homeless Charlie" on their WFNY show earlier yesterday. While many of his comments were bleeped out, he talked about how he "punches old b----es in the head" to steal their money.
Anthony, whose full name is Anthony Cumia, called that comment "horrible and awful," but said it illustrated a point about radio today. "You can talk about beating up old ladies and nobody stops you, but make one insulting joke about an ethnic group and you're fired."
Opie (aka Gregg Hughes) and Anthony have complained lately about restrictions on their terrestrial radio content, a subject with which they are familiar.
They were taken off New York's WNEW by CBS in August 2002 for running a contest in which they said two listeners had sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
They were hired by XM in 2004 and in 2006 rehired by CBS for WFNY.
Michael Harrison, editor of the trade magazine Talkers, said they could now face the same pressure Imus came under, even though their bit aired on satellite.
"In both cases," said Harrison, "FCC regulations don't matter, because they weren't violated. Those involved are still subject to public reaction - a reaction that now is amplified by the Internet."
Outrage as guest on 'Opie' show sez he'd rape Condi & Laura
BY DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, May 11th 2007, 4:00 AM
* Suggest a Story
Anthony Cumia...
...and Gregg Hughes (Opie) apologized for latest vulgar stunt.
White House refused to 'dignify' remarks on an XM Satellite Radio show about raping Secretary of State Rice and First Lady.
Bad-boy radio hosts Opie and Anthony yesterday topped even their infamous 2002 "Sex in St. Pat's" stunt, serving up a homeless man's profane declaration that he'd like to rape Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth.
The graphic sequence on their XM Satellite Radio program showed that even in a medium with no restrictions on content, Opie and Anthony found a way to cross the line.
The actual comments were made by a guest the shock jocks call Homeless Charlie. As each woman's name came up, he said, "I'd love to f--- that b----."
They laughed as they imagined "the horror" in Rice's face and what it would be like to hold her down and punch her in the face.
The crude cracks came a month after CBS gave Don Imus the boot for calling members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed ho's."
As an audio clip spread across the Internet, XM quickly issued a condemnation. "We deplore the comments made on today's 'Opie & Anthony Show,'" said an XM spokesman.
Opie and Anthony themselves offered an apology yesterday evening:
"We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused."
At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack shook his head in disgust but declined to comment on the insult to the secretary of state. A White House spokesman declined to "dignify that with a response."
CBS Radio, where Opie and Anthony are heard earlier each morning over WFNY (92.3 FM) on a different show with much stricter content guidelines, breathed an almost audible sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, we have standards that did not, and would not, ever let something like this make our air," it said.
XM said nothing yesterday about disciplinary action, but industry observers said the offensive remarks had the potential to derail a lot more than the deejays' jobs.
XM and Sirius Satellite are seeking the Federal Communications Commission's approval for a merger. Tom Taylor, editor of the trade magazine Inside Radio, noted this could place the issue of content on the table.
"XM and Sirius don't want any regulation," he said. "But it's come up in four congressional hearings - and at this point, the merger is such a close call any issue could become important."
Opie and Anthony had "Homeless Charlie" on their WFNY show earlier yesterday. While many of his comments were bleeped out, he talked about how he "punches old b----es in the head" to steal their money.
Anthony, whose full name is Anthony Cumia, called that comment "horrible and awful," but said it illustrated a point about radio today. "You can talk about beating up old ladies and nobody stops you, but make one insulting joke about an ethnic group and you're fired."
Opie (aka Gregg Hughes) and Anthony have complained lately about restrictions on their terrestrial radio content, a subject with which they are familiar.
They were taken off New York's WNEW by CBS in August 2002 for running a contest in which they said two listeners had sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
They were hired by XM in 2004 and in 2006 rehired by CBS for WFNY.
Michael Harrison, editor of the trade magazine Talkers, said they could now face the same pressure Imus came under, even though their bit aired on satellite.
"In both cases," said Harrison, "FCC regulations don't matter, because they weren't violated. Those involved are still subject to public reaction - a reaction that now is amplified by the Internet."