For the last week, NY hip-hop radio station Hot 97 has been running an offensive skit named "Tsunami Song," a song that ridicules the victims of the tsunami, calling them "chinks" and "chinamen" whose children will now be sold into child slavery. It is being played on the station's morning show, hosted by Tarsha Nicole Jones, who uses the on-air name, "Miss Jones."
Here are some choice lyrics:
"...all at once you could hear the screaming chinks
And no one was safe from the wave
There were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away
You could hear God laughing, "Swim you , swim"
So now you're screwed, it's the tsunami
You better run or kiss your ______ away, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head
And now the children will be sold to child slavery..."
---excerpt from Hot 97's "Miss Jones in the Morning" show.
The Morning show consists of Miss Jones, Miss Info, Todd Lynn, and DJ Envy. After the skit, Miss Jones proceeds to express her support for the song, while Todd Lynn says, "I'm gonna start shooting some Asians."
In the meantime, almost all news stations have picked up the story, and both Sprint, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola have announced they will suspend their advertising:
STATEMENT FROM SPRINT:
* Because the tsunami parody content on the Hot 97 program was in violation of our company standards, Sprint intends to suspend its advertising on the station.
The following information was issued previously:
* Sprint does NOT have any connection to the Tsunami Song aired on Hot 97 FM.
* Sprint strongly objects to any communication or other effort making light of the devastation of the tsunami disaster. The content of the "Tsunami song" clearly runs contrary to Sprint's commitment to diversity and inclusion, and is not in any way supported or condoned by Sprint. Needless to say, our hearts go out to the tsunami victims and their families -- for this and other reasons, the Sprint Foundation and our associates have worked together since the tsunami tragedy to raise funds for disaster relief efforts and will continue to do so.
*Sprint has purchased advertising time on Hot 97 but was incorrectly identified as a sponsor of the segment of the show in which the song was referenced. In any case, Sprint was unaware and had no connection to the content of the "Tsunami Song."
*Sprint has expressed our strong concern about this content to the radio station. The station has issued a public apology and appears to have disciplined the responsible parties. Sprint continually evaluates acceptable content against our own guidelines and we will continue to monitor the process with all outlets in which we advertise.
STATEMENT FROM MCDONALD'S:
Thank you for taking the time contact McDonald's. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to you regarding the recent events involving hosts from the Hot 97 morning radio program in New York.
First, McDonald's does not support programs that discriminate or are
insensitive to the plight of people suffering from devastating events.
Starting immediately, McDonald's will indefinitely suspend advertising
on the Hot 97 morning show.
It's also important to know that Ronald McDonald House Charities,
McDonald's Corporation and the McDonald's family around the world have
donated more than two million dollars to the Tsunami relief efforts.
We take these matters very seriously and will continue to work together to help victims of this devastating disaster.
Again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your
concerns.
STATEMENT FROM COCA-COLA:
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We are grateful for the opportunity to respond, and we share your concerns regarding this matter.
Together with our bottling partners, The Coca-Cola Company is working in the regions impacted by this natural disaster to provide clean drinking water and to support local relief efforts and other on-the-ground needs. To date, the Coca-Cola System and our employees have combined to contribute almost $20 million in cash and material donations.
We have made Hot 97 management aware that The Coca-Cola Company does not condone the inappropriate and insensitive parody of the tsunami disaster that aired on their station. We do not support programs that are discriminatory or that make light of the tsunami crisis and its devastating impact on people in the region. Accordingly, we have withdrawn our advertising from the Hot 97 morning show.
And Hot 97 has posted an extremely weak apology on their website. They still refuse to acknowledge the bigotry at all. I strongly encourage everyone to keep the pressure on sponsors and shareholders, and to keep watching this situation closely.
Please sign the online petitions here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/endhate/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/tsunmai7/petition.html
Write here:
(NOTE: If you use the word "tsunami" as the subject of your e-mail, it will most likely get filtered out and not read. So try to leave that word out)
Barry Mayo, General Manager, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
John Dimick, Program Director, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
Hot 97 WQHT-FM
395 Hudson Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-229-9797
Fax: 212-929-8559
E-mail: hot97@hot97.com
E-mail: morningshow@hot97.com
Here are some addresses for Hot 97's parent company, Emmis Broadcasting. The first is their head honcho Jeff Smulyan:
(NOTE: If you use the word "tsunami" as the subject of your e-mail, it will most likely get filtered out and not read. So try to leave that word out)
E-mail: jsmulyan@emmis.com
E-mail: ir@emmis.com
E-mail: rcummings@emmis.com
E-mail: jsteele@emmis.com
E-mail: khealey@emmis.com
Please contact the FCC:
Federal Communications Commission
Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and Hearings Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC
E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Web: www.fcc.gov/parents/content.html
For more info:
Type "Tsunami Hot 97" into the search bar on Google.com for related links.
Here are some choice lyrics:
"...all at once you could hear the screaming chinks
And no one was safe from the wave
There were Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away
You could hear God laughing, "Swim you , swim"
So now you're screwed, it's the tsunami
You better run or kiss your ______ away, go find your mommy
I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head
And now the children will be sold to child slavery..."
---excerpt from Hot 97's "Miss Jones in the Morning" show.
The Morning show consists of Miss Jones, Miss Info, Todd Lynn, and DJ Envy. After the skit, Miss Jones proceeds to express her support for the song, while Todd Lynn says, "I'm gonna start shooting some Asians."
In the meantime, almost all news stations have picked up the story, and both Sprint, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola have announced they will suspend their advertising:
STATEMENT FROM SPRINT:
* Because the tsunami parody content on the Hot 97 program was in violation of our company standards, Sprint intends to suspend its advertising on the station.
The following information was issued previously:
* Sprint does NOT have any connection to the Tsunami Song aired on Hot 97 FM.
* Sprint strongly objects to any communication or other effort making light of the devastation of the tsunami disaster. The content of the "Tsunami song" clearly runs contrary to Sprint's commitment to diversity and inclusion, and is not in any way supported or condoned by Sprint. Needless to say, our hearts go out to the tsunami victims and their families -- for this and other reasons, the Sprint Foundation and our associates have worked together since the tsunami tragedy to raise funds for disaster relief efforts and will continue to do so.
*Sprint has purchased advertising time on Hot 97 but was incorrectly identified as a sponsor of the segment of the show in which the song was referenced. In any case, Sprint was unaware and had no connection to the content of the "Tsunami Song."
*Sprint has expressed our strong concern about this content to the radio station. The station has issued a public apology and appears to have disciplined the responsible parties. Sprint continually evaluates acceptable content against our own guidelines and we will continue to monitor the process with all outlets in which we advertise.
STATEMENT FROM MCDONALD'S:
Thank you for taking the time contact McDonald's. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to you regarding the recent events involving hosts from the Hot 97 morning radio program in New York.
First, McDonald's does not support programs that discriminate or are
insensitive to the plight of people suffering from devastating events.
Starting immediately, McDonald's will indefinitely suspend advertising
on the Hot 97 morning show.
It's also important to know that Ronald McDonald House Charities,
McDonald's Corporation and the McDonald's family around the world have
donated more than two million dollars to the Tsunami relief efforts.
We take these matters very seriously and will continue to work together to help victims of this devastating disaster.
Again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to your
concerns.
STATEMENT FROM COCA-COLA:
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We are grateful for the opportunity to respond, and we share your concerns regarding this matter.
Together with our bottling partners, The Coca-Cola Company is working in the regions impacted by this natural disaster to provide clean drinking water and to support local relief efforts and other on-the-ground needs. To date, the Coca-Cola System and our employees have combined to contribute almost $20 million in cash and material donations.
We have made Hot 97 management aware that The Coca-Cola Company does not condone the inappropriate and insensitive parody of the tsunami disaster that aired on their station. We do not support programs that are discriminatory or that make light of the tsunami crisis and its devastating impact on people in the region. Accordingly, we have withdrawn our advertising from the Hot 97 morning show.
And Hot 97 has posted an extremely weak apology on their website. They still refuse to acknowledge the bigotry at all. I strongly encourage everyone to keep the pressure on sponsors and shareholders, and to keep watching this situation closely.
Please sign the online petitions here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/endhate/petition.html
http://www.petitiononline.com/tsunmai7/petition.html
Write here:
(NOTE: If you use the word "tsunami" as the subject of your e-mail, it will most likely get filtered out and not read. So try to leave that word out)
Barry Mayo, General Manager, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
John Dimick, Program Director, Hot 97 WQHT-FM
Hot 97 WQHT-FM
395 Hudson Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-229-9797
Fax: 212-929-8559
E-mail: hot97@hot97.com
E-mail: morningshow@hot97.com
Here are some addresses for Hot 97's parent company, Emmis Broadcasting. The first is their head honcho Jeff Smulyan:
(NOTE: If you use the word "tsunami" as the subject of your e-mail, it will most likely get filtered out and not read. So try to leave that word out)
E-mail: jsmulyan@emmis.com
E-mail: ir@emmis.com
E-mail: rcummings@emmis.com
E-mail: jsteele@emmis.com
E-mail: khealey@emmis.com
Please contact the FCC:
Federal Communications Commission
Enforcement Bureau, Investigations and Hearings Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone: 1-888-CALL-FCC
E-mail: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Web: www.fcc.gov/parents/content.html
For more info:
Type "Tsunami Hot 97" into the search bar on Google.com for related links.
