MSNBC Fires Host Savage for Wishing AIDS on Caller

Yahoo! News ^ | July 7, 2003 | Ben Berkowitz

[El Conservador]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable news channel MSNBC on Monday fired Michael Savage after the controversial talk show host wished AIDS (news - web sites) on a caller whom he dismissed as "one of the sodomites."

Savage had been under fire from gay rights groups since February when the network announced it had hired the conservative commentator to host a TV version of his popular talk radio show.

Saturday's episode of "The Savage Nation," his 15th since the program's debut in March, featured Savage discussing air travel with callers.

One caller began discussing his experiences, and after an unintelligible part of the call, Savage asked him "So are you one of those sodomists?"

When the caller said, "Yes I am," Savage, reclining in a chair with his arms folded and wearing dark sunglasses, responded, "Oh, you're one of the sodomites! You should only get AIDS and die, you pig!" in a clip of the show hosted on the Web site of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

An MSNBC representative was not immediately available to comment, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed that the show had been canceled.

GLAAD, which from the start campaigned against MSNBC's hiring of Savage, cheered the cancellation.

"Michael Savage's latest rant made the clearest possible case for why this kind of behavior has no place on any reputable news network," GLAAD spokeswoman Cathy Renna said in a statement.

In addition to his radio and TV show, Savage founded the Paul Revere Society, which advocates closing the U.S. borders, eliminating bilingual education and ending affirmative action programs.

A message left at a number listed for the Paul Revere Society in the northern California city of Mill Valley was not immediately returned.

Savage, who according to his biography on a network Web site holds a doctorate in epidemiology and nutrition science, hosted his unabashedly conservative show from the well-known liberal bastion of San Francisco.

A network source said the show had averaged 347,000 viewers through its first 14 airings, not including three weekends when the show was preempted by news coverage. It had aired Saturdays at 5 p.m. ET.

Savage was hired around the time the network canceled liberal talk-show host Phil Donahue, who in turn reportedly accused MSNBC of trying to "outfox Fox," a reference to Fox News Channel, often characterized as being conservative.

MSNBC is a partnership of the NBC unit of General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp.

[El Conservador]

Is it justified???

Is it persecution???

All comments are welcome.

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[annyokie]

Well, distasteful, but warrenting firing? I think not. I'veheard worse on liberal talkshow/tv. eg: (re: Newt Gingrich: "We should stone his house and kill his children." (paraphrasing) Alec Baldwin.

[JoeSchem]

Wishing any caller to be dead is wrong. Savage should have been cancelled.

But the real tragedy here is that the caller, if he is indeed a promiscuous homosexual, probably already has AIDS.

[CobaltBlue]

Hey, this is America. Savage has the right to free speech but no right to a forum. MSNBC has the right to can him. He's just an employee.

I am sure Savage agrees, and isn't whining about being fired. He's got too much integrity to whine.

[Fred Mertz]

Remind me to avoid watching PMSNBC. I thought that cable channel was finally coming around.

[Cultural Jihad]

Are you advocating for a Constimatushional Amendment for the equality of consequences to all outrages? If so, then may the chains of your ideology rest lightly upon you.

[annyokie]

Nah, Michael won't whine and will find a new hire toute de suite.

[annyokie]

You're misunderestimating me. See my post following yours.

[Oceanus]

What Savage said was just plain dumb. I think he should have been fired. But it pains me to see the GLADD folks win.

[Hinoki Cypress]

Then adios, mooooo-ron. No sympathy, here.

[Cultural Jihad]

Good for him. He'll do fine. He apologized for his remarks, even though some who blindly support him do not take him at his word that he is really sorry somehow.

[Cultural Jihad]

But it pains me to see the GLAAD folks win.

No one gets away with anything in this life.

[Hinoki Cypress]

You got that, 100% right.

[eeman]

MSNBC is private company that can hire and fire any commentator they want.

I am sure that other posters will disagree with me but I find Savage to be abrasive & obnoxious. I have listened to him totally insult people on his radio show whom I think have legitimate points or questions. Listening to him is like listening to sandpaper. I hope they can find another Joe Scarborough. I like hime because not only is he conservative, but also informative and articulate. Joe Scarborough delivers his message without being distracting because of his underlying personality, unlike Savage

[cyborg]

It painds me to see our side play right into their tricks. I would NEVER wish AIDS on anyone. One wonders if Savage has seen anyone with full blown AIDS suffer. Even if that person did it to themselves, needles, homosexuality,etc. how can someone say that?

[Jesse]

Savage is a blowhard. He and O'Reilly ought to get together. Would be sort of like two loudmouth Jerry Springers getting it on.

MSNBC can do as it likes. It is still, more or less, a free country. If he wants to make idiotic rants, he can buy his own television station.

[Nick Danger]

Betcha Ann Coulter got a real interesting phone call today.

[ladyinred]

You are so right. I wonder why there was no outrage from the media over Baldwin's comments which were clearly worse by far than Savages? I must admit, Michael is a bit much for me, but MSNBC should have known he would do and say things like that.