Q: What kind of person publicly threatens to hunt down and rape his rivalÂ’s four-year old daughter?
A: One of Clear ChannelÂ’s (former) finest: DJ Star, a.k.a. Troi Torain
Go ahead. Absorb. Let the nausea subside.
Yesterday, I received glad tidings of StarÂ’s termination (Thanks, TAN), but my relief quickly dissolved when I discovered just WHY he had been fired; during one of TorainÂ’s pathetic, IQ-reducing morning shows, he took a dispute he had with a nemesis– DJ Envy–to unprecedented levels of hatred by describing exactly how he wanted to hurt his rival’s innocent little girl. Wow. It is a truly special, powerful man who threatens to defile a child. If anyone needed further proof that Clear Channel was concomitantly useless and evil, look no further than their taste in employees and their amazing ability to reclassify hate as entertainment.
I understand that beef makes for tasty ratings, but apparently TorainÂ’s favorite meal came from a Mad Cow. Only a wasted, sick brain could conceive of and enthusiastically rant the following:
Star continued to digress about Envy’s child, saying, “Yes, I disrespected your seed. If you didn’t hear me, I said, I would like to do an R. Kelly on your seed, on your little baby girl. I would like to tinkle on her.” Even more, the now-removed radio jock stated, “I’m coming for your seed. Did you hear me? I want to do an R. Kelly in the mouth of your seed, fam… I want to put some mayonnaise in between your baby girl’s ass crack and take a bite.”
Quite predictably, Torain was relieved of his duty to shock listeners by spewing filth, but I want to know what took them so long. And I donÂ’t just mean the many hours which Clear Channel enjoyed before canning his ass, I mean these many months. I guess when your transgression involves an innocent Indian call center worker, itÂ’s easier to forgive and forget. No respect please, weÂ’re rat-eaters.
If Clear Channel had any kind of soul, they would have dumped Torain after that example of his intrinsic cruelty, but they donÂ’t, so they continued to remunerate him lavishly, thus ensuring that even more fecal matter would leave his worthless mouth. Much like children who have tortured kittens and puppies are practicing for future, human victims, I think that this descending spiral was predictable and thus, preventable. Shame on you Clear Channel. I rebuke you because your erstwhile star is shameless.
We live in a very nasty world, where demented people can be inspired by far less than the vitriol of a DJ with pedophilic tendencies. I don’t think DJ Envy’s Asian/African-American wife Gia Casey (who was also savaged by epithets like “lo mein eater”, “whore” and “gook”) can be faulted for fearing what Torain or someone like him might do. I also don’t think that ANY Mother should EVER have to say the following words:
“When a man says that he would like to tinkle in the mouth of your little girl and ejaculate on her face – that will make any mother extremely frightened.”
Sick, sick, sick. And just in time for Mother’s day. Did I mention that Torain bragged about how he carries a gun? Oh, wait, thereÂ’s even more to offend and horrify you: he offered $500 to any listener who could provide information about the four-year oldÂ’s whereabouts.
Somebody holla at me and tell me about his whore wife and his kid. 866-678-8270. Somebody get at me about his whore. His whore wife and his kid, this little ugly ass kid, I hear. Where does this kid go to school? I got five hundred bucks for that information.
Go ahead. Absorb. Let the nausea subside.
Perhaps this is what’s needed, to wake up radio personalities from their extended slumber in retard-land, since it often takes something as sad as being on the receiving end of pain to develop empathy for others. I know that DJ Envy was a part of that unforgettably tasteless “Miss Jones in the Morning” show which thought mocking tsunami victims was funny, which might be why he’s laying low and letting his wife speak out against Star’s verbal assault, but as enraged as I was about the unbelievable callousness of the “tsunami song“, I don’t think anyone deserves to be threatened like this, least of all a little girl who had nothing to do with any of it.
I know that the Manhattan DA is looking in to the controversy, but I canÂ’t wait for some of our resident desi esquires to weigh in with their thoughts on how probable or feasible any kind of legal action is in this case. IÂ’m obviously crossing all digits that thereÂ’s a way to punish such shittiness.
What’s almost as disturbing as the incident itself is how blasé some are about it; I don’t care for arguments I’ve read which dismiss this as a mindless stunt meant to shock and nothing more. I think there is something very wrong with a man who thinks such vile things about four-year old girls, especially when he’s so proud to publicize his desires on air. I’m mired in disbelief that anyone, even someone as unremittingly sadistic as Torain would think this was acceptable speech or behavior. You don’t say words like that about babies. You can’t just take them back and suggest you were kidding, because it’s beyond the realm of satire, of decency, really. I didn’t think “Star” could shock or infuriate me more than he did when he proved he was a craven, clue-free racist, but then again, I didn’t know he was also a pedophile.
:+:
UPDATED: Ever-vigilant mutineer and garbanzo bean Chick Pea reveals that Torain’s ass might just be held accountable. YES.
Via the NYT:
A syndicated disc jockey with one of the city’s leading hip-hop radio stations was arrested this afternoon for making on-air threats to track down and sexually abuse the 4-year-old daughter of a rival, the police said.
Troi Torain, the disc jockey known by the name D.J. Star, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. Law enforcement officials had launched an investigation into his remarks on Thursday after reviewing a transcript of his recent rants about D.J. Envy and his family.
The police called Mr. Torain to police headquarters in Lower Manhattan this afternoon and ordered him to surrender his target pistol license and his weapon, a .9-millimeter handgun, they said. When he arrived, he was arrested by detectives from the police department’s Hate Crimes Unit, they said…
On Thursday, council members held a second news conference and insisted that they would not be satisfied unless Mr. Torain was prosecuted. The lawmakers have also called for a Federal Communications Commission investigation.
good god. what a sicko! couldn’t those words constitue a threat of bodily harm? truly nauseating.
Q: What kind of person publicly threatens to hunt down and rape his rivalÂ’s four-year old daughter?
A demented dude that should’nt be allowed anywhere near a mike, heck, for that matter he should be listed as a child predator! Dragging a child in is low. Very low. sickening.
ANNA,
When I heard of this creature and his vile bs, I wanted to be sick. He is completely messed up and doesn’t deserve to call himself human. I cannot imagine a single thing he could say or do that would make me want to forgive him.
I think all this shows that radio morning shows are a twisted, nasty little world. It’s sickening and offensive to listen to even when they aren’t saying the kinds of things that lead to them getting fired.
Then again, Opie and Anthony are back on the air, and bigger than ever in the gap left by Howard Stern. As I recall they too got fired for doing a stunt in incredibly poor taste. (It pales in comparison to what Star said, in my view.)
So with that in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised to find DJ Star himself back on the air somewhere in not too long. I just hope it’s satellite radio, so I never, ever have to be subjected to it: Banish him to outer space.
When the Grey Hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the Grey Hair will know his seed is wiped out forever…
Ah, I get it now:
Amardeep, you just made a really good argument for why people should donate to Public Radio the next time they have a pledge drive. After Stern left the air NPR got a big bump in audience.
Is there a desi angle to this story? I seem to have missed it.
According to AngryAsianMan: “If you recall, Tarain was the same guy who did the on-air bit back in December 2004, where he called an Indian call center worker a ‘filthy rat eater.’
PG – we’ve blogged about him a lot before. Just search for Troi in our archives. If I wasn’t running out the door, I’d put a list of prior posts in my comment.
Here’s some motivation for action:
http://breitbart.wordpress.com/2006/05/11/clearchannel-fires-star-laughs-all-the-way-to-the-bank-with-a-tax-refund-of-843-million/
total loss for words, excepting the retch and gag reaction that mouth-breather Troi’s antics have stirred in me. Thanks for sharing, ANNA. I hope this hateful and unemployed terror “gets his” when the karma bus pulls around.
I can’t believe that it took so long for Clear Channel to take action. What a disgusting excuse for a human being. It’s not enough that he verbally assaulted that Indian woman, he has to talk about raping a four year old. I hope he violated some law and is indicted for the things he said about that poor girl.
I know I’ll come off sounding bad/elitist for saying this… but I find it odd that Howard Stern and NPR share the same listeners… so much so that NPR is filling the void left by Stern. crazy.
That’s what a lot of people thought but Stern’s listeners mostly like what NPR is selling. NPR does solid reporting but it is often more offbeat and unconventional than regular radio news which is why people think many of Stern’s listeners eneded up there:
Interesting that this post follows on the tail end of the one posted by Ennis on free-speech…
Also surprising is that Ira Glass (public radio star) is a Stern fan : http://www.thisamericanlife.com/pages/trax/press/howard_and_me.html
I am truly at a loss for words. Speechless.
He should be sued for this. I don’t think the First Amendment gaurantees hateful speech.
You have missed it. Here you go:
That’s what Ennis et al are referring to in their comments to you. Additionally, there’s this angle: the four-year old’s father was part of the morning crew that made fun of tsunami victims (which included brown people) via an awful parody/song. So there are two angles. Alternately, you could just follow some of the links which pointed towards our blog, to see the previous posts we’ve done on this asshole.
It does actually. Threat of violence against a specific indivudal however may be illegal.
+
That’s what inspired my title…
that comment is just purely sickening.. what people bring themselves down to, for ratings, and such..it’s just really frightening.. and purely pathetic.
I don’t understand, do commercial radio stations get a bigger leeway for using profanities etc on the air? I do volunteer radio shows for 2 non-commercial radio stations in Houston, and we have to follow really strict FCC guidelines, but it looks like these guys have more lenient rules.
To add to Abhi’s comment – hate speech (really speaking of speech w/ racist overtones) isn’t protected in Europe, but speech (incl. hate speech) is generally better protected in America so long as it does not incite violence, meet the reqs. for “slander,” or fall under a couple of other narrowly applied exceptions.
I wonder about that protection, in this case where the speech promotes/advocates a criminal act (sexual assault/abuse of a minor). Hm.
These fuckers have been pulling shit like this for a long time. Last year it was the call center call I’m surprised some rivals haven’t shot their asses already. About time someone got fired. Ugh.
this makes me thankful for my favorite radio station in Portland, Oregon- 94.7- less talk– more music in the mornings!
FYI….
Mailing Address: Power 105.1 FM 1120 6th Ave New York, NY 10036
Phone Numbers: Request Line: 800-585-1051 Business Line: 212-704-1051
Check out all the companies/organizations including the NYPD, Gap, Coke, Toyota and Geico that advertises with them and sponsors them and write to them.
You are making vast assumptions on Stern’s audience. The trend you highlight would actually affirm my belief that most of Stern’s listners actually liked his show for many other reasons than the crazy debaucherous antics. His show was always well produced and reached a wide demographic.
The fact that he’s with satellite radio now, his content is definitely more true to his vision and those willing to pay for it will do so directly. The evil giant known as clear channel, in a mad scramble to replace Stern, is turning to Opie and Anthony (who can’t hold a candle to Stern). The vaccum is sucking up all the dirt and I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw more idiots like the disgusting individual being discussed here, unfortunately. Talent and solid content is hard to replace. Idiots will be having a field day on the public waves.
When its all said and done, with the nature of content distribution changing, idiots will get weeded out by the market. Until then, you may hear douchebags rant about wanting to violate children or something else.
I believe threats against children aren’t taken lightly. If there is no legal way to nail this shit, I’m sure the civil proceedings will really give him hell.
CAD: I don’t think the First Amendment gaurantees hateful speech. Abhi:It does actually. Threat of violence against a specific indivudal however may be illegal.
Thank you,Vakil Abhi 😉
“A bane upon them; may the worms of your avarice consume your intestines, Clear Channel.” -Ronda Storms, Tampa Bay County Commissioner
Just like Ronda Storms, I abhor Clear Channel and everything they stand for.
Great article from Corpwatch.
Bonus desi angle: Pratap Chatterjee is the executive director of Corpwatch.
What exactly does it mean when it says ‘doing an R.Kelly’? I know the guy is a hip-hop artiste, but beyond that i am unaware of it.
You obviously haven’t met your FDA’s recommended daily intake of the Chappelle Show.
Sick sick sick fuck. Read the whack apology he’s making…”fearful for his safety” MY ASS. Thank you for the post, A N N A.
I was listening to this and my jaw dropped when he said this about Envy’s daughter. Star is a self professed “hater”, now he is saying that he was just kidding about it and wasnt really going to do anything. how stupid can he be? He was fired before from Hot97 and now he is fired from 105.1 in nyc.
While on the subject, i cant believe the stupidity i hear everyday on the airwaves. They are completely ignorant and oblivious to the real world. Just yesterday I heard Edlover from 105.1 say “what is the da vinci code”? everybody and their mom knows about this book, even if you havent read it.
R. Kelly was convicted of sexually abusing a girl and pee’ing on her (as shown in a home-made video). When Star said it, he meant that. He also said that he wants to “tinkle on the four year old”. Sicko!
A lot of radio show morning chatter (with their countless zoos, and circuses or whatnot) is meaningless and stupid and I really get no pleasure out of them. I always remembered Hot 97 as being one of the stupidest ones around, especially because of the racist things they said. I gave them slack for being people of color as well, but there is a line between gently poking fun, and then just plain hurtful.
I do agree that he has freedom of speech (even to say things against minors) and I don’t actually like censorship, so I generally do my own little bit of censorship and just turn the radio off. At the same time, it’s nice to see the public react for a change and dictate what they want to listen to, and get his ass kicked off.
The problem is that people like Star get away with shit like this in the guise of Freedom of Speech. I like all the other people commenting here am outraged at this episode and definitely support a stronger measure as suggested by someone in the earlier post of the philly radio hosts. The problem is people have short memories and he may come back bigger and brasher.
Neha, the comments left by his listeners are equally sick. I feel dirty thinking about the way some people can let something like this pass in the name of entertainment. Even sexist shock jocks such as Tom Leykis in Los Angeles draw a line at talking smack.
Morning talk radio is general brain drain from the local music stations in NYC. Not sure about the rest of the country. I find zero reason to tune out from NPR until the middle of the afternoon when no one is really “talking” and they are just playing music. I usually tune to 95.5 WPLJ. Some of the morning show discussions are so utterly stupid I think it should be against the law to be that stupid and ignorant in a city of 9 million people from all over the world!! You could walk down the street and absorb some intellect from the world going by!
Let’s not get carried away now… I’m not justifying Star’s words or actions, but why don’t we just stick with the truth. That blog posting states that Clear Channel received a tax refund from the IRS. Refund of taxes already paid by Clear Channel. Maybe the “in effect” part is sort of a disclaimer, but it’s a stretch to say that Star’s salary is paid for by the American taxpayer. Clear Channel isn’t a gov’t funded program.
Let’s stick with the facts. I’ll admit I was a listener of his morning radio program. And as a listener, I can say it seemed as though he had been trying to get fired for a few weeks now. He had always claimed on his show that his contract with Clear Channel was guaranteed. So if you need something to be angry at, be angry that even though Clear Channel “fired” him, they are most likely still paying out his contract. Of course, if his threats do end up being a criminal offense, then I guess his plan would have backfired on him and hopefully that will count as some sort of justice.
Paging Maisnon et al…where are the mutinous lawyers when you need them? Saying things about minors is one thing, saying these specific things about a four-year old is quite another IMO. Besides, he offered money to anyone who could hunt down the location of this child for him! That CAN’T be legal, can it? If you can’t make jokes about bombs on planes, you shouldn’t be able to mock a baby with threats of a facial. No, the two aren’t exactly the same thing, but come ON. Why don’t we do more to protect out children? Even if he was “joking”, he has massive amounts of influence on a very impressionable audience. Hold his ass accountable, damnit.
The thing about free speech is tricky. Yes, he can say whatever he wants– from bomb in the airport to “shoot ’em up” in a post office to heinous threats of violence against a minor to telling someone those pants do, in fact, make them look fat. The trick is that some things have consequences. You’re free to SAY it all you want, and free to accept the consequences as such. The fact that DJ Idiot was so specific and direct in his threats against this child may well have some harsh legal consequences. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)
Seriously, his tirade defies belief. Coming from London, it is hard to imagine such poison can actually be aired live – I think its unlikely that a DJ with his track record would be allowed live on air over here without really strict monitoring. He is a liability for any station that he works for. One thing that does confuse me slightly though – DJ Envy took the piss when he was part of the “Tsunami Song” team, right? But his wife is part-Asian – would that not amount to him just dissing his wife/her family??? I would be interested in peeps’ views on this.
By the way, this DJ Star dude should be locked up and the station fined for having the stupidity to hire such a freak.
The guy would be lynched by the media if any DJ made comments like that on radio in the UK – might even be prosecuted under some sex offenders law – what a filthy and disgusting scum bag.
Re: “Hold his ass accountable, damnit. “
Ya, I’d like to hear from mutinous lawyers as well as to where this can go. As far as I knew, I thought he is covered, esp. because he can (and probably will) wipe his ass with the “but this is entertainment” blanket. Blech.
to # 39 DJ88 here is your answer
http://breitbart.wordpress.com/2006/05/11/clearchannel-fires-star-laughs-all-the-way-to-the-bank-with-a-tax-refund-of-843-million/
Joshua Breitbart said, May 12, 2006 @ 12:07 pm
Actually, thatÂ’s exactly what itÂ’s like. When you get a refund, they cut you a check from the general treasury. The IRS is taking money that was rightfully collected (mostly from us, but also from ClearChannel, though once itÂ’s collected from ClearChannel, itÂ’s our money, not theirs) and then funneling $843 million of it to ClearChannel so they can pay the six-figure salaries of the Star & BucWild crew and still have enough money left over to offer $500 bounties for information on little girls.
HereÂ’s where $843 million in taxes would otherwise go, according to the National Priorities Project (in millions):
Of the $843 million you would have paid in taxes: $240 million would have gone to the military $158 million would have gone to pay the interest on the debt $170 million would have gone to health care $55 million would have gone to income security $35 million would have gone to education $31 million would have gone to benefits for veterans $23 million would have gone to nutrition spending $17 million would have gone to housing $12 million would have gone to environmental protection $2.5 million would have gone to job training $9.8 million would have gone to all other expenses
The fact that DJ Idiot was so specific and direct in his threats against this child may well have some harsh legal consequences
There is no legal cause of action here. His ‘humor’ while vile and inflammatory is not criminal and nor should it be criminalized. By this logic, they should have locked up Tyson for threatening to eat the kids of his opponents.
Unless his words were the ‘trigger’ which incited immediate violece, his utterances are protected by the First Amendment.
another reason to hate clear channel and the monotous drone it floods our airwaves with. oh yeah…and…DISGUSTING.
thanks AMfD! Oh well…
amfd:
I’m a bit dismayed if this is true. Tyson threatening to eat the kids of his opponents is a generic threat – this DJ made reference to a specific person’s child.
As someone who gets threats intermittently, for his ah… strong views, I think the parents should take the DJ to court and at least get a restraining order.
M. Nam
You are the victim of threats? Funny. You just don’t know when to quit, do ya?
M. Spam