L.A. Times Entertainment Critic: John Gibson should lose his platform

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: John Gibson should lose his platform
The Fox News talk-show host mocked Heath Ledger's death on his radio show. That's unacceptable, and he should be shunned.
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 26, 2008

Why exactly is John Gibson still on the air?

Three days ago, the Fox News talk-show host opened his radio show with hate-filled, and prepared, mockery of actor Heath Ledger's death. Auditory clips of Ledger's most famous film, "Brokeback Mountain," played with a background of funeral music, ending with his character's lover, Jack Twist, saying, "I wish I knew how to quit you." "Well, he found out how to quit you," Gibson chortled before launching into a show that repeatedly referenced the 28-year-old actor's death as if it were some sort of joke. Among other things, Gibson suggested, laughing the whole time, that the actor had killed himself because of the stock market downturn, the stalled John Edwards campaign or because he was just a "weirdo" with "a serious drug problem."...

After the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other groups denounced Gibson's behavior, he at first defended it as a joke, explaining that he had long made fun of the "quit you" line and wasn't about to stop now. Then Thursday, clearly responding to increased pressure, he issued a statement during Fox News' "The Big Story With John Gibson and Heather Nauert," saying he was sorry if some people were offended by his remarks and also that he was sorry Ledger had died. If this reminds you of another radio personality's recent tour through the early stages of (at least temporary) career death -- denial, anger, bargaining -- there's good reason. Don Imus lost his show as a result of a similar "joke" -- a racist reference to the Rutgers women's basketball team -- and there is no good reason why Gibson's fate should not be similar.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Gibson's remarks was their premeditation. The opening had been scripted. Then he enjoyed his ghastly jaunt so much he could not let it drop. The Imus excuse -- that he made a regrettable off-the-cuff comment -- does not even apply, actually. Gibson's defense -- I have been making fun of gays for years, why should I stop just because someone died? -- is truly chilling, while his "I'm sorry if some of you found my remarks offensive" is a classic non-apology....

When my editor asked if I wanted to write something about Gibson, my first reaction was, "Why give the guy more attention than he deserves?" But that's a cop-out, and one that has been used over the years to excuse or ignore invective leveled at many, including the Irish and African Americans, as well as Jews and women. That Gibson would choose the event of a young man's death -- a young heterosexual man, it must be said -- to exercise his "right" to homophobia is not just a matter of taste, it's an issue of policy. What is Fox News' policy about the language of hate? And more important, what is our policy?

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-gibson26jan26,0,3848550.story

[Teaser]

1. Gibson is a punk

He is a soulless shitpile, and I look forward to the day when I meet him coming out of some bar so I can let him know exactly how I feel about him.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. I was just asking DeepModem Dad -- how does such pure evil get into some people?

I don't understand it.

[pretzel4gore]

3. the tapeworm knows

gibson knows the liberal left can't/won't defend itself, or anyone it sympathises with on principle....too bad we care so little for the cause even a tragedy like the death of a talented young guy who displayed more courage then punks like gibson can even imagine can be used to promote gibson's loathesome feeding..if even one of these rightwing goofballs was slapped sensibly the rest would go into hiding...mind you, slapping a rightwingnut aint very nice, not gentlemanly and against the law, a no-no-no, iow verbotten...just plain wrong! (maybe that's why the nazipoohs are prone to it)

[troubleinwinter]

4. "What is Fox News' policy about the language of hate?"

I happened to hear something on Fox radio in my car last week (my local station was kaput) that was so offensive, I have not posted it here.

The host (Neil Boortz, I think his name is) talked of a story regarding a supposed 'relic' of the foreskin of Jesus that had been missing since the 1980s.

The woman host on the show asked, "Do 'they' usually save those things?", referring to circumcised foreskins.

This Boortz said, "I dunno, but if you save enough of them, you can make a wallet out of them!" He laughed over this comment for a full two minutes.

I nearly drove off the road, I was so shocked that he thought the idea of Jewish body parts being sewn into wallets was uproariously funny.

I read today that the FCC is imposing a fine of over a million $ because a network allowed a "mooning" to be seen on TV in 2003. But this sort of despicable speech is seemingly not only acceptable, but high comedy to Fox.

Now I must excuse myself to boil my hands in bleach after typing what came over the public airwaves.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. OMG. Unbelieveable! nt

[swimmernsecretsea]

5. And that phoney baloney apology Gibson gave out as lip service? Shove it. nt