Turbanhead and Anna post about a Philly radio DJ who abused an Indian call center worker on air (listen to the audio clip, courtesy of Edward Champion):
STAR (morning DJ on Power 99): I was surprised when I got somebody on the line in East India… [on phone] This call has been outsourced to India?
TINA: That’s right.
STAR: Well, ma’am, what the eff would you know about an American white girl’s — uh, uh — hair? And quick beads.
TINA: Just to inform you, ma’am, we’re a national chain services company. And we’re just taking calls on the opposite…
STAR: Listen, bitch! Don’t get slick with the mouth! Don’t you get slick with me, bitch!
TINA: Now if you continue to speak this language, I will disconnect the call.
STAR: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. I’ll come out there and choke the eff out of you. (laughter) You’re a filthy rat eater. I’m calling about my American six-year-old white girl [Star is black]. How dare you outsource my call? Get off the line, bitch! (laughter, applause)
Yeah… hilarious. It’s several cuts below Beavis and Butthead. Shock jocks have spewed racist bullshit on air for years, getting away with it when the minority group they cuss out is small or disorganized. This is nothing new.
But, this time it’s personal: on my trip to India a couple of weeks ago, I just learned that my niece and my sister-in-law, two beautiful, intelligent women in their mid-20s, are working in call centers in Gurgaon. One remarked drily that she handles metro Manhattan, ‘so if you’re a Citibank customer, gimme a ring.’ The thought of some racist asshole insulting my sweetheart of a niece makes me want to beat the shit out of him.
Even worse, the hit show is getting picked up by a New York station on Jan. 17, 2005 at a cost of $17M. Like stand-up comedy 50 years ago, it’s racial abuse for profit.
Here’s what the DJ said a couple of years ago when Jennifer Lopez casually used the N-word:
“Why is she using a word that’s derogatory to blacks?… If you’re a so-called role model, don’t spit in the face of African-Americans.”
Hypocrite.
Edward Champion dug further:
When he worked at WQHT, he played plane-crash sound effects when Aaliyah died, complete with a woman screaming, causing his former co-host Miss Jones to walk out…Star’s real name is Troi Torain. He’s also made anti-Semitic comments… Apparently, Torain’s former New York employer Emmis has been trying to block his WWPR gig. Torain was suspended after the Aaliyah incident. The clause in his Emmis contract has kept him off New York radio until this year. That didn’t stop him from ripping about 20 award plaques from WQHT and storming off the office. And there’s more, even a book deal.
If you’re in Philly and you really want to solve this, listen to the station for a couple of hours and make a list of their advertisers. Call up those advertisers and threaten to boycott them unless they pull their ads from Power 99. Advertisers are pretty risk-averse; they’re just trying to go about their business, not get caught in political controversy. And the business end of a radio station is far more responsive than the programming end, which often brushes off shock jock complaints.
Sharon says one of the local papers is doing a blurb on this:
… Philadelphia Weekly is going to do a story on the whole Power99 ‘Call to India’ thing, and if any of you actually heard the call live, please notify: fhrubino@comcast.net, phone is (215) 467-2089.
Here are the stations’ contact info:
Philadelphia, WUSL
Business line: 215.483.8900
Studio hotline (toll-free): 800.669.99FM
Studio hotline (local): 215.263.6699
Attention: Richard Lewis & Thea Mitchem
Power99 WUSL-FM
440 Domino Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19128
Director of Urban Programming/Program Director: Thea Mitchem
Music Director: Coka Lani
News & Public Affairs Director: Loraine Ballard Morrill
New York, WWPR
Program director: Michael Saunders, msaunders@clearchannel.com
Request line: 800-585-1051
Business line: 212-704-1051
More posts: MoorishGirl, SAS, Sharon, Half the Sins, Tiffinbox, Currylingus, Hollywood Masala, Steamed Rice, YellowWorld, Varnam
Anna may be posting on this shortly as well… we’ve all got some strong feelings about this.
May I recommend filing a complaint directly with the FCC. If we can’t beat Michael Powell, then at least we can use him:
Disgusting. How can this be funny? Stuff like this makes you realize Howard Stern might actually, be, um, a little talented (although I still can’t stand his stuff).
abhi, how about targeting the advertisers on the station? I’m sorry, but I just don’t agree with this particular Powell doctrine and don’t want to use the FCC for anything.
MD, I dislike the FCC also but I wanted to put it out there as the “Nuclear Option.” The problem with going after the advertisers is that they frankly don’t care about us. Our community is too small, unless we combine with other groups. That kind of sustained effort might take long enough that this story gets buried in the news cycle.
I’m not as anti-FCC as most people seem to be (probably b/c I worked there), so I agree that in addition to contacting the advertisers and the radio stations, filing a complaint with the FCC is a GREAT idea. We need to demonstrate that such outrageous behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Sorry Julie, didn’t mean to sound as anti-FCC as I did. I think specifically many of us disagree with the post Janet Jackson over-reaction by the FCC, as well as their relaxing of the rules in the area of media ownership. THIS however seems like an opportune time to make use of the org.
Anna’s suggestion to send hand-written letters is also very important. E-mails are too easy to ignore or discount. A couple of stamps can go a long way.
Don’t these guys feed off of outrage ? I mean, if there was no “shock”, they couldn’t very well be “shock” jocks right ? I guess I wonder whether calling and protesting is not playing directly into their hands, doing what these bozos want us to do
suresh, i comprehend what you’re writing, but i don’t advocate bending over and taking it sans lube. that’s just me. the last line of his “skit” enrages me– he acknowledges that he victimized that woman b/c he thinks we’re docile punching bags, available for his pleasure. wrong.
I want those ASSHOLES fired.. (and i don’t even curse)
omg, niki really doesn’t curse.
diz-amn, “star”…more than anything else, that tells me it’s ON. 😉
Hmm. “sans lube” ?
let the war begin: better to be loud then cowed, I guess.
wow. just listened to it. i just sat blinking, unable to believe he would actually DO that to some unsuspecting woman who is just trying to do her job. this is supposed to “boost ratings” .. how exactly does that work? oh right…. it’s on clear channel. I’m already boycotting them here in Dallas thanks to shady business practices and exacerbated by that “George W Bush : Our Leader” propaganda poster they supported.
But it’s better to do just what you said : boycott their ADVERTISERS and let them know that you are dong so, and why. As token white girl, I’ll be happy to let them know that the boycott can and does extend out past a small – but substantial – ethnic group to all people who care about common decency and treating people with dignity.
oh and if Troi Torain wants call center jobs to stay in America, I personally invite him right now to quit his shock jock job and work for $9.00 an hour answering calls from jerks such as himself. The world would be a better place for it.
No relation, although we often get confused !
Thank you for bringing this egregious incident to our attention. We need a media watchdog organization for South Asians.. in the meantime, you all are doing an inspiring job of keeping the community plugged in.
The Philadelphia Daily News just today profiled another Clear Channel support gaffe — check out http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/10577106.htm?1c.
The author writes “Have you peeped a hot trend that hasn’t been reported? E-mail heyjen@phillynews.com and let me know what you know.” I’m sure she would be very interested in this local incident..
sorry for the double post. and i just emailed her the link to the transcript.
Once in a while I would listen to power99 as I am a philly native. I don’t normally burn people at the stake for my own beliefs like so many do. I don’t make posters attached to wooden 2×4’s defying the government or someone I dislike. I tend to, like most people, sit it out and let others speak for me. Apathy rages within me.
But this matter, this MP3, wow…HURTS.
I downloaded the MP3. I stare at it on my desktop. How could such a small icon, a few 0’s and 1’s cause so much pain in my chest?
I deleted it. Icons on my desktop are reserved for programs and files I admire.
Never again will 98.9FM be on my radio again, and never will I respect this man of such hate.
I’m all for standing up and exposing this sort of hypocritical and offensive racism for what it is..
I’m in the outsourcing business too — we don’t run a call center though, and so far haven’t had this sort of crap. However, there’s no way we can take this nonsense lying down… passivity does not pay, esp in America. Way to go, Sepia Mutiny.
I told this story to my British Asian boyfriend, and his response was simply “90% of the racism I’ve experienced in my life has come from black people.” It’s really a shame that a DJ who you’d think would be more sensitive to issues of culture and race should be the perpetrator of more xenophobia and hate. But this IS the direction that shock radio is headed, isn’t it? Obviously listeners eat it up or they wouldn’t give these wankers (and there’s at least one in every major market, and others who get syndicated) so much money and airtime. Generally they stick to verbally abusing women, this guy just upped it to attacking a brown one. I think it’ll only get worse as the U.S. gets more fragmented.
It’s their own insecurity that has started pinching them. Sick bastards…..
Please, I’ll bet most of his audience is white in those towns. He’s just doing what successful shock jocks do, and he seems to be an equal opportunity offender. Airing that little clip after Aliyah died … that’s just cold.
What if we all just gave him a big hug?
Having had the precious experience of working as a customer service representative in a call center located in the United States, I can definitely recall the numerous idiots such as this wanna-be DJ that complained about service. Little did these callers realize that I could hear every single thing they said whenever I put them on mute, amplified into my headset tenfold. Their most common complaint was regarding the timing of service. Very often, many of their requests were dependent on duties being fulfilled through another party that we outsourced projects to – the “other party” being in India. Of course, that information could never be fully revealed and being the hapless service rep, I bore the brunt of whatever bitch/whine/moan the customer felt necessary to send my way. The worst part of this incident is that it magnifies the utter ignorance and intolerance of Americans. Being an American consumer who’s worked in the dreaded call center, being an Indian-American whose job was ultimately outsourced back to the motherland (no bitter feelings, only relief), “Star” exemplified vile xenophobia and plain old-fashioned impatience – things that the land where “customer is king” has made possible. My point: we need to put pressure on the “higher-ups” that create a culture where stupid skits and ratings’ ploys are fulfilled at the price of any human dignity.
There is a place for each type of humor. Humor that plays up stereotypes tends to do well in a stand-up setting. It may not sit well with some people, but its in a private setting.
When broadcasting such idiotic messages over a public system, one can only cringe and shake their head. Plenty of racist jokes fly around, even within our communities (typical Sardar, Gujarati, South-Indian jokes). However, they are in context with humor at the core of the joke, and are not meant to be hateful.
This so called ‘prank’ spewed vitriol and hate. One could do something more tasteful as Conan did, which I laughed at. There is even edgier comedy that I laugh at also. One has to balance the tone of the skit with the content, good comedians make it sound humorous, laid-back, and funny, not HATEFUL.
Thats why good comics are good, they know where that line between humor and racist hatemongering exists.
This was not humor, it was verbal abuse. Verbally abusing a lady simply doing her job is unacceptable and in the name of humor or satire, it definitely does not fly. One look at the transcript and anyone can tell that is verbal abuse. “STAR: Listen to me, you dirty rat eater. IÂ’ll come out there and choke the eff out of you”
The very fact that the caller threatened violence (although in vain), it is disturbing. Take this same line and throw it any other person or community and no one will find it funny. Only idiots would.
wow dhrumil– you are so hilarious. hugs are for your “private parties”, not scum like this DJ.
What I was trying to get at was there is a line between humor and blatant racism/hate.
The private setting was meant to enforce that certain types of humor is within context in a private setting and not in the public. You aren’t going to play Chris Rock, Carlin, or even Russel Peters on the Radio. That is offensive in a public broadcast, but in a private setting or contoled area, it has its audience.
What this DJ did is not acceptable ANYWHERE. Get it?
Once again…in suresh’s words “Don’t these guys feed off of outrage ? I mean, if there was no “shock”, they couldn’t very well be “shock” jocks right ? I guess I wonder whether calling and protesting is not playing directly into their hands, doing what these bozos want us to do”
I say ignore the bastard! If I run into him here (in philly) I promise I’ll say “Wassap n****r?”
Chris
I say ignore the bastard! If I run into him here (in philly) I promise I’ll say “Wassap n****r?”
Right, because fighting hate with hate is a great idea (sarcasm intended).
For the past 2 days, I’ve literally been speechless here. I listened to the MP3 for the first few min and literally had to delete the bits off my hard disk. It’s just sick, disgusting, twisted, and hypocritical in a way I haven’t seen in years.
Even Howard Stern (a man I am far from being a fan of) doesn’t pull crap like this….
And speaking of “filthy rat eaters…”
Troi Torain if your bitch ass comes down to the South..even your own black people would whoop your ass. Your name is going to be remembered in Dallas, and you’re gonna get fucked up if you set foot here. Oh and here’s a little word my good Indian friend taught me…you’re a CHUT.
You can email complaints to the FCC to both Michael Powell and to the general complaints line. Email address’s below:
fccinfo@fcc.gov., Michael.Powell@fcc.gov
Even though I’m not South Asian, I am otherwise still an Asian American who has experienced racism in growing up in big cities that are supposed to be diverse and tolerant of others. When I heard this, I was flabbergasted that it had been broadcast. Of course, every time I hear another Asian joke on TV, I’m flabbergasted but have come to expect it. I wrote an angry letter to the station and to the FCC and maybe will be forwarding it to some more organizations. Stand up and be heard people! It sucks to be picked on, Asian or not and this guy needs to be told that he’s an asshole and that people can’t get away with bullying others.
Why did Steena refer to this guy as “Ma’am”? Perhaps that’s what pissed this guy off, not that it gives him the freaking right to talk to her the way he did. Maybe he’s a little insecure about his sexual orientation and Steena touched a nerve.
I listened to the clip and I came away feeling not so much general outrage (although it’s certainly warranted here) but rather empathy for Steena. I’m an immigrant to the US (from Thailand) and have been in similar situations where I’ve been verbally abused because of my race. Steena was a true professional and I’m proud of her for that, because if it were me, I would have lit up that a-hole like a Christmas tree (and probably would have been fired).
I think Indians need to be sensitive to American “culture”. Probably this is how they speak amongst themselves (bitch and all ….) – so it’s nothing unusual 😉
truth: go eff yourself, bitch.
ha-ha! go american culture! it’s not unusual to pick on the helpless, insult them baselessly and stoke negativity in an already highly-charged political debate (outsourcing).
we do have to protest the comment in entirety, including the use of “bitch.” it’s important to note that it’s not just “racial abuse” but sexual harassment, far more widespread and acceptable in this society.
Hello, we have a discussion about this topic at the Yellowworld forums: http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?t=21101
I need to know the original air date and if possible, the approximate time (to the nearest hour) the segment occurred so an FCC complaint can be lodged. Please e-mail me, post here, or on the YW forum. Thank you.
I’m convinced this DJ got pissed off because the Indian woman taking the call persisted in calling him ma’am. Y’know… his manhood and all!! haha. Go, Indian woman…
Indians should not address anybody as sir/maam. May be the call center folks needs to be trained on this aspect. The language of this so-called “guy” is an act of an uncultured uneducated brute.
Simply disgusted by the standard of modern day radio. Howard Stern and then this…..
The only way to stop these dirtiest scum of the society is to call their sponsors and slam class action lawsuits against them for promoting profanity, racism, vulgarity in United States. Who sponsors/advertises on this show/FM station. Make the list and get a Philly lawyer to bomb their “you know what”.
The whole incident worths a nice-ass lawsuit. Suspension, my ass! We need to get these guys back to where they belong. Anyone up for slamming these folks and sponsors with lawsuits?
Please file a complaint to FCC….use the web address below http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
I have already done so and I know many of you have. If number reaches in thousands, you will see some action. South Asian community is very strong in USA, economically [the rest of this comment has been censored by Sepia Mutiny].
God Bless America!!
2 things everyone MUST DO to channel this OUTRAGE
1)MAil– fccinfo@fcc.gov and the chairman Michael.Powell@fcc.gov I just did it. But nothing concrete would happen until the numbers build up…so MAIL RIGHT AWAY
2) Mail– foxnews and cnn just did thatas well — This better gets reported in mainstream
first of. i am new here. it appears a lot of you actually “know” each other. now, it shouldnt take too much to actually force the hands of those incharge to dissolve what ever contract they have with these two “RJ’s”. Just find a lawyer who is willing to file a class action law suit against the station itself for defamation and promotion of racist policies. if i am not mistaken, this still is the US of A. If nothing else, it will draw a lot more attention to the station itself, and possibly bring about a boycotting of the show by non-indians as well.
good luck to those in the philly area with this.
If anybody is against outsourcing, then there are lot of ways to show this rather than personally attacking some innocent person. This is pure racist attitude. If that junk DJ had some attitude, he may have attacked the company that outsourced rather than an individual who is doing her job for her livelihood. This station should be boycotted.
God, why do… [the rest of this comment was deleted by SM because not enough context was given. If this was meant to be an alert to hate speech on another site, then that site and its author must be attributed so as to avoid confusion. We apologize if we misunderstood the original comment]
Dear Star and Buck Wild, I woke up one morning in Philadelphia tuned into Power 99 FM, and was totally shocked. Where did all of the dj’s go. As I listened to the radio I thought to myself hmmm can this man be another Howard Stern. The hatered that was on your show was not shocking but (I shall keep in clean) disturbing. That was then this is now. Now with this new incident this is just not acceptable. I am an American white female with an Indian boyfriend. My advice to you both is seek some legal council and get another side job as your talk show haven will soon come to cease.
I think it may be better to have Mr Star (DJ) brought out to a TV show to defend his actions.
Shws such as O’Reily Factor (Fox) may be fruitful in making a mince-meat of this DJ joker.
Dont know where we’re heading but dave you shit head, we all know how big u’re country sucks…u’re so called RJ’s need the help of a fone & mike to threaten & abuse an innocent girl in india who was trying to do er job..what’s it with you f…….sure you do your country proud….remember u’re dealing with India….it aint no afghanistan or iraq.. remember 9/11,the threat of 12000 russian ICBM’s tipped with nuclear warheads targeted all over the U.S of A, not to forget even your loos, the hard talk you get to hear from Iran & North Korea…Remember when India retaliates all of the above will fade in comparison…as for those RJ’s they’ll find their balls hanging on their ears…not to forget your’s dave…..jaihind
Yeah, I heard that, but now that guy has been thrown off, if you want to hear an Indian podcast about Indians in the mainstream, listen to the Raj and Aman Radio Show.
http://www.geocities.com/surifilmco