Don Imus Comes Out Swinging

Eight Months After Being Fired, Shock Jock Returns To Radio And TV

(AP)  Don Imus returned to the airwaves Monday, eight months after he was fired for racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team, and introduced a new cast.

Imus' lineup of guests featured two presidential hopefuls, Democrat Chris Dodd and Republican John McCain. As he did several times in the days after the episode, Imus condemned his controversial remark last spring and said he had learned his lesson.

"I didn't see any point in going on some sort of 'Larry King' tour to offer a bunch of lame excuses for making an essentially reprehensible remark about innocent people who did not deserve to be made fun of," he said.

Every time he would get upset about the uproar in the media, Imus said, "I would remind myself that if I hadn't said what I said, then we wouldn't be having this discussion."

Again, Imus apologized to the basketball players and called the ensuing furor a "life-changing experience."

He talked about what it was like when he and his wife, Deirdre, met with the team, their coach and some of the players' parents and grandparents, for four hours the night he was fired from CBS Radio. The team members accepted Imus' apology that evening.

"I was there to save my life. I had already lost my job," he said. "They said they would never forget and I said I would never forget."

He talked about his experience as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict and said that participating in recovery programs had given him the opportunity to be "a better person ... to have a better life."

"I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me," he said. "And no one else will say anything else on my program that will make anyone think that I didn't deserve a second chance."

While saying he had learned his lesson, he added - to applause from the live audience at Manhattan's Town Hall - "The program is not going to change."

His debut, on WABC-AM, completed a comeback that seemed improbable at the height of the furor over his calling the players "nappy-headed hos." CBS Radio fired him on April 12, pulling the plug on his "Imus In the Morning" program that had aired on more than 70 stations and the MSNBC cable network.

Shortly after the new program started at 6 a.m., Imus introduced the cast, which included two black comedians, Karith Foster and Tony Powell. Powell did the sports segment of the show. Also returning was Bernard McGuirk, the producer who instigated the Rutgers comment and was fired as well.

And his new employer will air the show with a 30-second delay, just in case, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

Imus' guests on Monday's show included historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dodd and McCain, and political analysts James Carville and Mary Matalin.

While Imus pledged to use his new show to talk about race relations, he added:

"Other than that, not much has changed. Dick Cheney is still a war criminal, Hillary Clinton is still Satan and I'm back on the radio."

McCain, who called into the show, answered questions about gays in the military (he said he would continue the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unless military leaders said it wasn't working), the recent surge in Iraq (he said it was doing the job), and the 2008 presidential election.

"You're still my choice. Today. And for the foreseeable future," Imus told McCain.

McCain jokingly said that Imus' support meant more to him than the polls, which show him in the single digits, lagging far behind frontrunners Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

"Thanks for having me on," McCain said upon signing off. "Welcome back, old friend."

But while some loyalists, even a couple of presidential hopefuls, are back in the fold, other A-listers and advertisers are staying away, adds Cordes.

An hour before the show began, more than a dozen fans - all of them white - waited outside Town Hall for the sold-out show. The $100 tickets benefited the Imus Ranch for Kids With Cancer.

David Walter, a fan from Kansas City, said he thought the reaction to Imus' remarks was "overblown" and a "double standard."

"It was a comedy context, a comedy show. He said something that was supposed to be funny and everybody beat him over the head with it," Walter said.

Not far away, Anthony Royal, who is black, was making a delivery in the Times Square neighborhood.

"I don't think it's a good thing," Royal said. "I think that he made a bad statement."

Imus' resurrection is just the latest in his four-decade career. The veteran shock jock has emerged intact in the past after assorted firings, bad publicity and a disastrous appearance at a Washington dinner before President Clinton.

Just three months after he was fired from CBS Radio amid a national debate over his remark, the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the strongest voices calling for his firing, said Imus had a right to make a living and could return to radio. Sharpton planned a news conference later Monday.

The prospect of Imus' return had outraged critics including the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Organization for Women.

Just before his dismissal, Imus signed a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS. He threatened a $120 million lawsuit after he was fired, but he settled in August for an undisclosed amount of money.

Imus replaces the morning team of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby on the Citadel Broadcasting-owned station. WABC-AM is already home to several syndicated hosts: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.

Citadel owns more than 240 radio stations around the country.

[keithle1]

So long as the white person doesn''t do anything that actually affects your life, what do you, as a black person, care what they think about blacks?

What Imus said is not going to affect the future careers or social lives of any of those Rutgers players. They''ll find a man that they love & will end up having kids. If that''s what they want. No one remembers their names. You wouldn''t recognize them if they sat right next to you at a bar.

So where''s the harm?

All you did was pump up the Disonorable Reverend Al Sharpton & make him feel powerful:

"Look how this white man is kissing my butt. I''m gonna make him apologize non-stop for a week. Suffer honkey! Do your penance, Imus!"

[valendug]

This is what''s sad. I hate this certain person and his name is Tom Brown. Now if I said this to you would you call me a rascist? My situation is that I don''t like either blacks or mexicans. Now if I said that, you''d call me a racist. Well, Tom Brown happens to be black, so by saying that I hate him rather than saying I hate blacks or mexicans you wouldn''t think anything of it. But, ***, I sure do hate that Tom Brown. Think about it. There aren''t too many whites that aren''t prejudiced or racist, but only in their thoughts, not their spoken words. And those of you who think any ethnicity is different have been reading your bibles and korans too long.

[keithle1]

Sharpton & Jesse aren''t jumping up & down screaming at the top of their lungs about The Great Satan Imus having returned to radio so why should anyone else care.

Sharpton has moved on to bigger & bettter "outrages." He''ll probably be getting involoved in the Baltimore Ravens player who alleges that an official repeatedly referred to him as a "boy" during last night''s game against the Ravens. That''s the kind of stuff Sharpton loves. Tempests in a teapot.

Black men have a lot of respect for black women. You see evidence of that everywhere. Black people can say anything about black people. Unless you''re Bill Cosby and are saying something critical of black people. That kind of thing doesn''t go over well in the black community: criticism.

Save your "furor" for the important stuff that really matters.

[trenticus-2009]

And I thought I was over seeing that stupid loo on his face!

[dakotaclark]

Hmmm...

I wonder why Don Imus continues to wear the costume that makes him look like a phony drugstore cowboy.

Are his friends and associates too afraid to tell him exactly how goofy he looks?

Simply owning "a ranch," does not make one a cowboy...

[brianbwb-2009]

To the nazis here who whine about "Black rap" as an excuse for their own racism, the lyrics you cite are only a reaction to conditions you and your so called leaders and luminaries, such as the pathetic Imus (he should rot in hell)perpetuate. Since it is clear you cannot grasp the meaning of the poem, one thing you cannot dispute, the rap song is only a poem that harms no one, but your racism is a mental illness that harms real people daily.

If "black people" dislike "white people", it is a logical consequence of generations enduring the manifestations of your intolerance buried so deep in your soul that you have trouble recognizing them, and try to pretend that they don''t exist.

"Whites" have not had to suffer institutionalized racism, enforced by government and the private sector, from blacks, so any such claim is pure fiction.

When "blacks" use the N word, the context is different from when "whites" use it, even children can tell the difference, so that argument only shows a lack of basic language abstraction skills.

Quit being cowards, admit that you are unapologetic racists who fear "black" people, then your points might have a semblance of credibility, but hiding your justifications behind weak and false logic only makes you even more cowardly.

[rwilkens]

Glad the show was back this morning. Where else can you get two presdential candidates in one morning, a famous historian (whom I saw talk in person at the letterman show), and some hilarious comedians (one of which I understand is black, and a regular, but when you''re listening on the radio you really can''t tell what race they are).

[rohink-2009]

ScarletPhD

I take that back. I went back and read everything you wrote. I see where you''re coming from.

[rohink-2009]

ScarletPhD

You give the human race a bad name.

[spadeisspade]

WELCOME BACK IMUS!!! WE MISSED YOU!

[keithle1]

Maybe some black people were waiting for the Evil Satan Imus to kiss every black person''s butt within 500 miles.

Get over it already. This is not the worst thing to have happened to black people. Just might be a few more important issues worth worrying about instead.

[drivelphobe]

Welcome back Mr. Imus. I love your show and missed it.

[ssm9451]

ScarletPhD~you go girl!!!

[ssm9451]

GetaCluIdiot~luv your comment! Totally agree with ya.

[ramos937]

Welcome back Don. The truth is you should never have apologized or critisized for your statement. The next time you make a comment that some people say offends the black community, please advise them this:

I will apologize if you can truthfully say that my input is not used daily in the black community. Since it is being used daily by black folks, how can it be offensive to them?

Example: The word N....... is used daily and very frequently in the black community. How can it be offensive to them since they use it as a normal part of these coversations/speech?

[muhammadtwat]

What is "reprehensible" is the way black idiots like Al Sharpton make these stupid remarks into a racist concoction that FURTHER divides the country. Sharpton and his ilk are out for ONE THING only, the promotion of thier own racist agenda.

This situation only proves more and more how blacks in America are the TRUE racists, they are PURE hypocrites and would rather wallow in the 2nd class society the support of racist rap has built than you use common sense and turn the other cheek.

If America is FREE to air rap music, and no blacks bat an eye or squeal one complaint, then SHAME on them for making this big deal anbouyt IMUS. You are pathetic.

[hypnotoad72]

Which is a real job:

A. Playing basketball
B. Blathering in front of a microphone
C. Both
D. None of the above

Depending on whom you ask, you''ll get an amusing response. And regardless of the person you ask, you''ll always hear "Why can''t more people get a real job?"

[getacluidiot]

Any black person who listens to, plays, promotes, buys and supports racist rap music is a freaking hypocrite. YOU are the reason for racial division, not the Imus''s of the world. Turn the other cheek to silly stupid name calling, and look into your own backyards where most of the the black children in this country don''t have fathers, drugs are rampant, violnece is the eowrst amony ANY race in the US, and your culture of hate and violence is sickening.

SHUT UP ABOUT IMUS AND FIX YOURSELVES BLACK AMERICA!!!!!

[docofthebay]

I always thought of Rev Sharpton as an instigator of racist reactions, and someone who will not let racial wounds heal. He chooses causes like this Imus stupidity, yet, has never lifted a finger within his own community to quell the unchecked racist, violentce in black rap music. (at least he never did until some bold white people called him on it)

[buddhabman]

I am glad Imus is back. He handled the Rutgers situation aftermath pretty well. I am not a big fan, he has said many things that were offensive to me, the comments about the Rutgers Womens Basketball team just tipped the pail. However on balance his show is funny and he get to issues with inteligent commentary not found on OReilly, Hannity and the other Right Wing noise makers. What disturbs me is all this hatred spewed towards Sharpton and Jackson. Yes they have gotten on the wrong side of some issues; I will submit that the Duke LaCrosse players situation is where Jackson should have backed off until the facts were out. Yes you can call Jackson a Media *** but he brings the heat and light to issues that otherwise would be bypassed. On balance no political/social spokesperson has stood up for the rights of the poor, injustice/inequality for all races, but particularly minorities than Jackson and Sharpton. I guarantee they will be on new Imus show which will be great radio.