MSNBC Fires Host Savage for Wishing AIDS on Caller

[ShiningIce]

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.

 

[Limeoutsider]

Sheesh, I usually wished slow horrible death (silently) on my callers. ONly the ones that yelled at me and told me it was my fault they were stupid\

 

[Oddjob0226]

I'm not anti-gay, and let's face it, there are those who would see us tickle lovers as "sodomites" or somewhere about there. But I'm getting way tired of people being picketed or losing their careers for speaking out & expressing their opinionsas is there right. Want get rid of Trent Lott? Do it becuase of his voting record, not becuase he said something kind of vaugue once. Hate the Hollywood people becuase they think their money makes their opinions more improtant? I haven't seen any DC government folks getting welfare recently. Savage was jerk-ish, but not necessarily a clear & present danger. Apparently I'm the only one on the planet who thinks 'God bless Charelton Heston AND the Dixie Chicks!'


(I know about 'sodomy', but is there a 'gomorrah-y'? Not a joke - I mean, really....?)

 

[Oddjob0226]

I think what is lost to many is that picketing, protesting & speaking out against real dangers or injustice is a fine idea. Trying to get laws changed, or move public policy in a positive direction, supporting the will of the majority while protecting the rights of the minority is a good idea. Just plain out right disagreeing is completely o.k. Whether it's individulas or the masses getting people of all races seats on a bus, changing spousal abuse from a misdomener to a felony, asking the government to be more forthcoming with information reguarding things that the public's money goes to and the representatives of the people are involved with, making pain killing drugs easier to get for the chronically ill who are not specifically terminally ill, urging courts to consider the custodial interests of fathers in divorce cases rather than the almost automatic turning over a child to the mother, supporting or condeming a war, urging the govenrment to decrease tax-payer supported farm subsidies, or to increase tax-payer supported farm subsidies, and so on, reasonable & leaglly protected acts that serve a purpose bigger than seeking revenge due to being offended.

Damaging or destroying an individuals's career who is not an actual, present danger in a free and CAPITALIST society (ie, possible finacial damage as well as freedom to speak one's mind are both legitimate concerns in this society) is stoopid. Don't buy the album, or see the movie, or change the channel. Urge your friends to do the same. Work and work and work until you can write your own book, or get your own t.v. show or publish your own newspaper. You have the right to do these things as well. But someone has a bad day, or is ignorant & ill-informed, or speaks from experiences others haven't had, or just is not in politically correct lock-step and others feel a moral outrage & then take action - not to express their thoughts or enlighten that individual or group, but to demand and actually expect an end be put to that individual or group's public life and identity, as well as robbing those who may agree with that person/group of that touchstone if you will; or for a private citizen to be forced to drastically alter their life, expressed thoughts, livelihood, or rituals because they don't sit well with other's private lives, thoughts, livelihoods or rituals - bollocks. That doesn't change minds, it doesn't make the individual see the error of his ways, it imposes the will of the loudest upon others and makes the targeted individual/group give in just so he/they will be less annoyed with endless deprevation of whatever the subject originally had or the constant barrage of blah blah blah.

No one's complaining about criticism; it's the hell-bent "I am right you are wrong and evil so I must make you dissapear" mentality on ALL 'sides' now days that is so disheartening. Letting the "market" decide and "let's manipulate & alter the market" are not the same.
If one goes through life and the worst thing one got was being offended, ya got off pretty easy.

 

[brian spencer6]

I think wishing someone would die of aids is like yelling fire in a crowded elevator you just dont do it. In a time when there is an aids epidemic in Africa and lots of intolerance of homosexuals this just fuels the fire of hatred. I to believe in free speech but with that should come a personal responsability if your a talk show host. What this guy said is just plain wrong and meanspirited.