Monday, October 01, 2007

Talk show host that defended Bill O'Reilly racist comments with more racist comments gets fired!!

WRKO talk show host John DePetro, show above on the air in June, was fire this morning. By Matt Viser and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent WRKO Radio talk show host John DePetro was fired this morning after he made a derogatory remark Thursday about the sexual orientation and the weight of Green-Rainbow party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross. "The comments were completely inappropriate, derogatory and will not be tolerated," said Jason Wolfe, a vice president at Entercom Boston, which owns WRKO, in a statement. "I met with our corporate staff last night after listening to the tapes, and we decided to terminate John at that meeting." DePetro told the Globe today said he was "stunned" by his firing and that he called Grace Ross to apologize for calling her a "fat lesbian." He explained that he was exasperated that Ross and independent Christy Mihos were eating up time during Wednesday's debate. Recalling his remarks on the radio, DePetro told his listeners that he wished someone would "tell the fat lesbian to shut up." "I didn't violate any laws. There was no obscene language," DePetro said Friday. "I know it's mean but she is technically obese and lives an alternative lifestyle. It's kind of mean. What if someone yelled about Kerry Healey being a spoiled white b---h or Mihos being an arrogant wealthy egomanic." DePetro apologized on the air after making the remark. Ross describes herself on her campaign website as "a white lesbian living in Worcester" and life-long activist for gay/lesbian civil rights and other "progressive causes." "I believe it was an offensive comment and a lot of people have been offended by it," Ross said in an interview with the Globe after a debate this morning in Dartmouth. "I don't personally feel that offended by it. I'm running for governor, and you have to have a somewhat thicker skin than that." In its statement, WRKO said it regretted the reference to Grace Ross. DePetro was suspended for two days in July for using a homosexual slur on his show to describe Matthew J. Amorello, who was chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority at the time. Amorello is not gay. Wolfe said in his statement that he told DePetro, "that any further comments of this kind would be dealt with in a severe way." "I have no doubt that terminating John's employment was the right action to take," Wolfe said.

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