Hall of Shame: Imus slurs Asians

11.10.06 - Posted by AsiansVote

From the November 7 Newsday:

According to a complaint e-mailed to the AAJA, a segment of Imus' program addressed a story about obesity in China. At one point, Imus interrupted sidekick Charles McCord and asked whether anyone had ever seen a "fat Chinaman," the complaint said. McCord tried to correct him, but Imus reportedly repeated the word several times."

And then today's apology:

According to WFAN's vice president of programming, Mark Chernoff, Imus "did apologize to the Asian community" at 7:28 a.m. on Tuesday's broadcast, saying he "didn't mean to offend anybody."

Imus was unavailable for comment, but Chernoff recalled the host saying, "If I wanted to offend somebody, I would have let you know, but I wasn't trying to offend and I'm sorry."

Good for Rene Astudillo, executive director for the Asian American Journalists Association, who demanded the apology. And welcome Mr. Imus, to the AsiansVote Hall of Shame, where your metaphorical picture will hang on our virtual wall for all to turn their backs on as long as we can afford webhosting.

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11.10.06 | Hall of Shame , Issues , Race & Racism