D.L Hughley in trouble over Imus remarks
 

Black Leaders Protest At D.L. Hughley's FW Show

(CBS 11 News) FORT WORTH Several people joined local Black ministers and community leaders to protest comedian D.L. Hughley's Juneteenth show at Bass Hall in Fort Worth Saturday.

The ministers said they had enough with the double standards. If Imus can't get away with it, black performers shouldn't get away with it either.

The controversy surrounds Hughley's recent appearance on the Jay Leno Show.

The comedian said Imus was wrong to call the women of the Rutgers basketball team 'hos,' but he did say they were some of the "ugliest, nappy head women" he had ever seen.

Pastor Kyev Tatum of Servant House Baptist Church said Imus is insulting and so is D.L. Hughley.

Pastor Tatum said, "It's not only that comment, he has a history of demeaning our community in such a way that it's not funny anymore."

"I believe that freedom of speech is a zero-sum proposition. Too many times I have watched clowns like these pretend to speak for the masses. I can only speak for me," Hughley said in a statement released to the media. "Isn't there a child you can help teach to read, a war to help stop, an unjustly accused man you can help out of jail? I will not apologize for telling a joke about the world as I see it."

people who are protesting what is said on stage and seen on tv today, in future years, will be the ones storming tv stations and lynching performers tomorrow

i think the insult is in the "nappy" portion of the comment.

black people just wont get away from allowing each other to use derogatory terms, and calling every other race out for using them. its unfair to everyone, if its wrong, its wrong.

it's not even that...it's the fact that now since Imus and Michael Richards...everyone has become overly sensitive to ANY remark made BY ANYONE about Blacks in general. yeah I do think we have to see what fair is...but here is the rub on that...

Imus made the remark out of pure ignorance and no one can deny that.

D.L. is a comedian and he was more bent on saying that these women, in general, were ugly...not necessarily because they were black...BUT because they were ugly....in HIS opinion.

I heard the interview that he had on Leno and what I heard, he was emphasizing the 'attractiveness' portion.

Last I checked, it wasn't racist to call someone ugly.

ok, i didnt hear it personally, so didnt know exactly how it sounded. do you think he said something about that particular incident just to prove a point? i guess to show people that it was ignorant for Imus and that since he/DL was black, he could "get away with it"?

But see....that's just it...it wasn't to 'prove a point' ...again...it's the context that was used. and the question we have to ask these people protesting was diod they hear it? Or did they read what happened?

Now...was it bad taste? sure....

Was he being demeaning? NO.

Should he have to apologize?

Let's look at that for a minute......

What really gets my goat now is, if anyone says anything in the media that is considered "in bad taste" ...someone immediately wants an apology.

If that is how that person feels, why should they go back and say "I am sorry...or I apologize for hurting your feelings" when most of us are smart enough to know in most cases, that is how that person really feels and in other cases, it's a career move done to possibly keep from losing whatever money they made.

Let's look at some notables:

Imus - did a face to face with the Rutgers women, still lost job due to money that CBS lost from advertisers pulling out


Limbaugh - apologized to ESPN and the NFL for comments about McNabb...went back to radio


Isiah Washington - went to rehab for using homosexual slur...also apologized...lost his job not too long after

Tim Hardaway - also made homophobic remarks...apologized, was not allowed to attend All Star weekend

John rocker - apologized for making racist remarks about NYC....still didn't stop his MLB career from ending...

So really...what's the use?

Man up...if that is how you feel, then fine, you just have to deal with the repercussions that come along with it.

When you open your mouth it's the chance you take when something inappropiate comes out.

Imus apologizing was simply a financial thing to him

Me personally, I applaud D.L. simply based on the fact that he is sticking by how he feels and he is willing to deal with the consequences of his actions.
Furthermore, he wasn't saying it (and I will see if I can find the clip) to be hurtful...if he didn't think the women were attractive, then isn't that his right to say so?

this link has an interview done after the leno show aired.

http://cbs11tv.com/entertainment/loc...165205832.html

Daemon, I agree with some of your points. I think people should have to deal with the ACTUAL consequences of their actions, but I don't think we should become a society which says the natural consequence of saying something offensive is losing your job. Sure, if there is a massive sponsor pull out or it truly impacts performance at the office, getting fired is a natural consequence.

Side note though, the Rocker incident destroyed his career. There were other factors (declining performance), but the tipping point were his offensive comments and the equally ridiculous backlash because of them.

Yeah, I agree.....Rocker was already struggling in the league. He had three or four good years and that was it.....guys like him are a dime a dozen. The comments just aided in his decline.

and see this is the problem...if someone says something that a certain group (in some cases a majority group) doesn't like...the contrived apology comes up....and this is when I begin to really wonder if that person is being real or doing this crap just to simply save thier @ss.

There is as such a thing as thinking before speaking but at the same time some things just are...and we should have a right to express the opinion...again, this is why I like DL speaking up about it.....and I am not really a big fan of his work but at the same time, we have to listen and interpret before the village runs off to grab the pitchforks....

Now my thing is...he is just one...how many other comedians and other critics have said similar remarks since this whole thing went down?

I know Damo nWayans was on that same slant...I saw him in concert 2 weeks ..BUT again it was intent and guess what..he expressed it on the same lines a DL....they were some not so cute chicks (not becuase they were black) but IN HIS OWN OPINION he doesn't CONSIDER THEM attractive and move along people end of discussion....I don't hear of anyone allasudden saying 'We must PROTEST because he call those women of color ugly!'

The last thing I want from anyone is someone who is saying things just to appease and placate everyone just to earn brown nosing points...

I hate "Yes" people

I hate that these people even try and do the apology/rehab thing. Sure, if you feel bad, apologize. I have a feeling that they usually do. However, you should also have the courage to back up what you say, and not go groveling in an attempt to avoid further controversy. However, in our current society, defending a controversial opinion can ruin your career/life, and I think thats unfortunate. The media is guilty party #1 at feeding the frenzy for this bloodlust America has with seeing people who slip up go down.

I saw D.L. Hughley live and I didn't find him funny anyway. Okay, irrelevant comment. Carry on.

Wait...what happened to Michael Richards?

He really should've kept that to himself.

Famous people need to stop sharing their dumb opinions so damn much.

And what's up with that psycho Isiah Washington?

Huh?

context!
 

Its all about context. What offends one person may not offend another. The double standard exist everywhere when it comes to these types of things. If your buddy can give you a "friendly insult" you and you not get mad then you shouldn't get mad if some stranger gives you the same "friendly insult"...theoretically.

It's double edged sword with famous people speak...on one hand...the public wants to see a famous person who is 'real' and 'ordinary'...on the other hand...the public wants someone who is perfect and we are so ready to crucify them when they mess up...thus why people reacted the way they did with the whole paris hilton thing....the bottom line is this....many feel that she is flesh and blood like anyone else so why should she get preferential treatment? This is why I have been saying what i stated earlier about what some should do when they open thier mouths...simply when you mess up....be responsible...cuz in most cases an apology doesn't mean jack.


As far as Isiah....well his comment cost him his job

again...look at it like this....was ABC willing to take the risk of keeping him on the show at the risk of losing viewers?



No.

From what I heard he caused a lot of drama and got in a physical fight on set.

However, if it was just his comment, I highly doubt ABC would feel the pain of people boycotting Grey's

I want a celebrity who shuts up and doesn't bring up dying topics to make themselves look "real."


He's an idiot and he attempted to compare himself to those who were politically persecuted for civil rights. :rolleyes:

Dying topics....?



Well....everyone is entitled to making a mistake...but don't apologize if it's not coming from the heart.

Like him or not...Isiah has done what many of us are guilty of doing...I am sure...now...I bet 20 years ago...no one would have punished him for doig it...nor would they have sent him to 'rehab'.

the thing with people today? everyone has an opinion, and someone will always be insulted by it. it takes a lot to get me going, and at the same time, if i feel that my "audience" could be insulted? i keep my mouth shut. it is all about context, like someone mentioned earlier. i think in the wake of the media storm and the sensitivity of these young ladies, maybe it wasnt the best thing to do/say at the time.

agreed

we just have a habit sometimes of trying to keep things (bad or good) rolling because it just simply happens to be in teh forefront of all that is going on in the world right now.

The Imus thing isn't a hot topic anymore. Opinions aren't contingent upon that but what Hughley did is the equivalent of someone digging up a thread that's been inactive for a couple of months only to stir the pot some more.


I don't like or dislike Isiah. I don't know who the hell he is outside of this Grey's Anatomy thing. I've never watched the show and have only seen photos of him Essence or whatever.

Mistake or not, he's an idiot.

i dont really care too much about Isaiah Washington either, but that word he used is considered offensive to some. hell, i curse like a SAILOR sometimes, but you will never ever hear me use the "f" word for a homosexual male. i feel it is disgusting and disrepectful.

at the same time, i know gay men who dont care about the f word. kinda like how some black people dont care about the n word...

1. You cant put it all on DL....for one thing it was a question that was put forth to him by Jay Leno....this happened in May...the protests that came about didn't happen until this past weekend so...sorry...this is not something that "he dug up". And in most places, Imus may have faded but there are still lots of reprecussions due to what he said 2 months ago. Many in the media are still discussing censorship and what contingencies have to be done in order for this to not occur again.

There have been a lot more firings since this went down and tehre a lot of people who are still discussing this (we are for one aren't we?) in light of if this is considered a double standard and his remarks after the fact.

2. ....never mind...it would be a waste of good posting space

Yep.

Just like "queer" has become an accepted term in many segments of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning community. That doesn't mean that anyone else should use it.

DL is responsible for himself.

U know...I was listening to ESPN one day after the whole thing went down....one of teh commentators said something that went like (and I am paraphrasing)there are many homosexuals that make a double standard to certain things and even though they may be accepting of a lot of things they cant vacillate. For instance, there are many who find the word 'queer' very offensive almost as much as the N word. YET....there is a show called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and he stated..."you can't have it both ways"

exactly and that is why I am not mad at him for stating that just because SOMEBODY got mad for his statements that he feels he should have to apologize for it.

On the flip...this is why I got mad at Isiah for letting someone else push him to go to rehab just because he called somebody on the show a fag and he only went just cuz he thought it would save his career.

Now mind you I am not a big fan of him myself...but this was point I was trying to make earlier about saying you are sorry for something you knew was wrong vs saying sorry to placate

keep your apology if it is fake. and dont bother even if you mean it, and you dont plan on changing your ways :). that is what apologizing is all about!

Based on morality and not sponsorship dollars, DL doesn't have to apologize and neither did Imus or Michael Richards.

Whether or not they apologize doesn't impact their idiot status.

And give DL an incentive to apologize and he'll be doing that. His career is BLAH right now so he's getting some attention.

I disagree on the attention part.....I say this because what he said was done a month ago... and nobody commented on it...the people in Ft Worth chose to take up his comment last weekend...and now he is in the news.

So again...DL getting this attention now isn't his doing....

Funny thing is...Damon Wayans said soemthing akin to this in his standup I saw 2 weeks ago....

Some comedians on TV One has done the same....and you know...I don't see the pitchforks and torches...what gives?