Source - Satellite radio giant XM announced Tuesday that it has suspended Long Island shock jocks Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia and ceased broadcast of their show for 30 days, effective immediately.
The duo had issued an apology last week after airing a segment in which a guest expressed desire to have sex with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as well as First Lady Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth.
According to XM "comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday's broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter." The decision to suspend the duo was "to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them."
The original remarks were made on their show last Wednesday by a guest the duo call Homeless Charlie. As the name of each woman came up, the guest said he would like to have sex with her -- using language not fit for print.
Opie and Anthony laughed as they imagined Rice's "horror" while describing a violent sexual encounter in which Rice is punched in the face.
Washington-based XM condemned the remarks at the time.
"We deplore the comments made on Wednesday's 'Opie & Anthony Show,"' XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown told The Associated Press last week.
Opie and Anthony apologized to listeners on Friday's show.
"We apologize to the public officials for comments that we made on our XM show on May 9th. We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused," they said.
Because the show airs on satellite radio, there are no federal restrictions on its content. According to XM's Web site, the radio service has parental controls that allow users to block access to channels that frequently contain explicit language. Those channels are designated with an "XL" notation.
The same radio duo was dumped by CBS Radio in August 2002 for running a contest in which they said two listeners had sex in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. They were hired by XM in 2004.
The remarks could become an issue as XM seeks approval from the Federal Communications Commission to merge with New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade magazine Inside Radio.
"XM and Sirius don't want any regulation," he said in Friday's New York Daily News. "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."
This whole Imus-fallout thing is getting out of hand, I understand people being offended by stuff like racial jokes and stuff, but to take someone's job over it is just lunacy. It's like that episode of South Park where Cartman wants the Muslims to pull Family Guy so that another group can protest another episode until it gets cancelled. A small minority are taking offense to something enjoyed by a larger group and turning little things into huge problems. Since Imus got fired so have other DJ's who have done stunts that may have offended some have been fired. For example, the New York radio show "The Dog House with JV and Elvis" was fired over a prank call bit in which they made Asian jokes to a Chinese food restaurant. They called two racists, and even insulted JV's wife who is ASIAN.
God, it's a fucking comedy show. It's not the news. It's not some kind of a Klan rally-radio show. It's a fucking COMEDY show. People have got to learn to differentiate between comedy and seriousness because this is fucking ridiculous.
XM signed the two knowing their past, knowing that they've gotten into trouble and have used that to leverage sales of their products. The idea that they punish them for doing their jobs is ludicrous.
CBS Radio better not pull out too, or else someone's getting their head busted.
What's your opinion on what's going on now in radio?