Air America Host Randi Rhodes Suspended For Calling Hillary A "Big F*cking Whore"

Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton "whores" in a recent appearance, seen below. Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, "What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is! She's such a fucking whore!" She then proceeded to say, "Hillary is a big fucking whore, too" to a mixed audience reaction. "You know why she's a big fucking whore? Because her deal is always, 'Read the fine print, asshole!'"

Watch:

Update: Rhodes has been now been suspended from the network. Air America released the following statement:

Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.

"Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts," said chair Charlie Kireker.

Comments

[georgegore]

Love Randi, big mouth, big brain, big ideas and enormous courage. People are dying, lots of innocent people, Millions of people, and we're upset because Randi said bad words, swear words, impolite words, and worst of all, words of truth.

If you were a soldier sent to Iraq to kill on orders, and you heard that someone back home told the truth and used SWEAR WORDS while doing it, you would say, "Damn Straight, it's about %#!*! time!

Almost every President and Senator in history swore to make their points with emphasis. Does anyone read any history in America? What happened to this country?

The points about Hillary are true, and she said that she and McCain were experienced enough to lead the military, but Obama was not. Can you believe a Democrat would say that? Ferraro made many racist statements on Hillary's behalf. The contest has gotten dirty between dems and Hillary is in the thick of it with Bill.

But if Hillary is the noninee, I will vote for her because she is not John McCain.

I hope all Obama supporters will do the same if he doesn't get the nomination. We need to get out of this war, we need universal health care, we need to uphold the Bill of Rights, and we need to attack global warning if we are to survive. John McCain won't do any of these things.

Go Obama!

[linaya]

"I hope all Obama supporters will do the same if he doesn't get the nomination. "

No, I won't vote for Obama. Because his supporters are assholes and they disrespect Senator Clinton, that's why. If you want us to vote for him, stop being such assholes.

[thatvisionthing]

Hillary Clinton has not earned my respect. In fact, every day, more and more, she earns my disrespect. I'm glad that I find hopeful things in Obama to pin my vote on, because he's the only feasible alternative I have. When I post my reasons for not voting for Clinton on this website, invariably I am pounced on by a Clinton supporter for being knee-jerk unreasonable and a Clinton hater. God that pisses me off! Signed me, the asshole

[Marlyn]

"if Hillary is the nominee, I will vote for her because she is not John McCain." ???

... but if there is no difference between Hillary and McCain, why vote for either? I don't trust Hillary to appoint Liberal judges to the Supreme Court. She has disowned the Liberal label. She calls herself a "Progressive Independent". She is part of the RIGHT-WING of the Democrats, Republican Lite. These people are disgruntled CONSERVATIVES, fed up with the Republicans, and they bring their conservative values to the Democrat Party, hoping to take it over.

Meanwhile, we Liberals are still here, the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, fighting the PRIVATIZATION of America. No more Blackwater! No more insurance companies ripping off Americans who need health care, ...

[georgegore]

Randi is an American Hero, pure and simple. The
founding fathers were all going to be hanged if the
Revolutionary War was lost to England, and the
soldiers were known as terrorists. Randi is offensive
to the powers that have us in the position of losing
our economy, our country and possibly our planet. I
wonder why she's yelling and angry?

We have over 4000 dead Americans and counting. Air America has made a Colossal
Mistake. Air America had better grow some testicles, right now. I am
VERY ANGRY!

When you have Americans and innocent Iraqis dying, to complain about someone's WORDS as being too much to bear is not only cowardly, but also UN-AMERICAN! We as Americans believe in FREE SPEECH. We Americans will decide what is the truth and what is offensive and we will not shut our ears to the truth.

Or we will disappear from the pages of history. Nice try, but Americans didn't really believe in free speech after all. They started out so strong, but the uppity colonists who defeated the biggest power in the world with their beliefs in individual liberty became a docile, law-abiding, unquestioning populace of sheep. China, India and Russia are about to eat our lunch and we are mad at Randi for telling it like it is.

Keep your beautiful, big mouth open, Randi. I need to hear the truth, no matter how much it hurts!

George Howard

[mcnairbo]

She probably just got too shit faced again and shot off her stupid mouth without thinking.

[XCITIZEN]

No, I think it's worse than that. I think with Randi Rhodes we've got an (intelligent but) narcissistic drunk surrounded by adoring enablers. No wonder she's started self-destructing. It's not cute or inspiring, and there is really no excuse for a lot of the sh*t she spews out. I'm glad to see her gone, as much as I feel a kind of pity for her.

[beb]

Obama and Clinton supporters have to leave their differences aside and celebrate what they share.

I've never heard of Clinton whoring herself out and I've never seen Obama praying to Mecca.

[Marlyn]

"I've never heard of Clinton whoring herself out" ???
You didn't know that Rupert Murdoch is a big supporter of Hillary?

[leekinny]

video heavy

a tad bit over the top ,but, Randi is alright with me!!!

[leekinny]

http://circuitousnoodle.blogspot.com/2008/04/tad-bit-over-top-but-randi-is-alright.html

[SocialConscience]

Randi should have at least been fair and mentioned the whoring that Barack Obama has done for votes and political power.

1. Rezko ties, not the least of which, the land deal contingent upon Rezko's concurrent buy
2. Joining Trinity UCC, as an admittedly non-religious person, in order to grow his political base
3. Taking on a preacher-like speech affect that was not present in his excellent keynote speech. Coun-treh, liber-teh, possibili-­teh...Hmm.­..where HAVE we heard that before? Sell, sell, sell
4. Branding himself as the next MLK, Bobby Kennedy, JFK, Ronald Reagan or whatever combo works to capture your vote

Don't buy from a snakeoil salesman and expect to get a panacea. I wish this story was just Stephen King's latest book, but fact is stranger than fiction, and even King has doused his pulse points with this supposed cure-all oftentimes referred to as the kool-aid.

[Axolotl]

Your name is belied by your game.

For your sins, you, too, shall drink from the iced chalice of urogenital waste.

[JOHND777]

Air America should get a grip! This was a stand up political comedy routine and FUNNY!!!!!! This WAS NOT ON THE RADIO!!! Is there something in her contract that says NO stand up! Watch the utube video posted here! 1984 George O. was off by 24 years!!! Pathetic and her suspension probably came from complaints by the secret Hillary media police who troll the airwaves and papers looking for any slight!!!

Bosnia seems so real, and I hope we find out that MLK jr. never visited Chicago when Bosnian G.I. Jane (HRC) says she shook his hand at 14! That knowing smile as she described it looked just the same when she had the horrible Bosnian flashback with Sinbad and company!!!!

[cae]

As I posted the other day, I think Randi has done a lot for the progressive side of things, but I do feel that in the last month or so she's been kind of taken over with trying to promote Barack Obama and demonize Hillary Clinton. I'm not usually prone to extreme words, but the phrase "manical diatribe" came to mind when thinking about how her show has struck me in recent times.

Anyway, I hope something constructive can come of this.

[nellie]

Randi calls it the way she sees it. She doesn't like a lot of the Clinton campaign tactics and she did like Obama's speech. In all fairness, she didn't start expressing a preference until she concluded that Hillary couldn't win. Now you may disagree with that conclusion, but the fact is, Randi kept her opinion to herself until she decided her opinion didn't matter because the race was decided.

[cae]

I know that's what she repeatedly SAID, but it was my recollection at the time that it wasn't necessarily the case--it was either after the Ohio/Texas primaries or after the Rev. Wright incident--I think it was the primaries and even though Hillary won them, the calls began that it didn't matter because Obama couldn't be caught in the delegate count. (But no mention of the popular vote). But I recall that the final result wasn't in fact for sure, and that Randi Rhodes' claim that it was over was more of the spin being put out by Obama supporters trying to close it out even though Hillary had won and was gaining momentum.

I support Hillary, but as I said, I think Randi has done a lot of good and hope something constructive comes from this.

[gipper1]

Initially, I was upset when I heard that Randi had been suspended, especially since Air America has dull as dishwater Sam Seder filling in for her. However, after finally having a chance to look at the footage, yep, she deserved to be suspended.

I'm sure Randi will offer a heartfelt apology upon her return, and go back to being the most entertaining liberal on the radio today.

[mcnairbo]

Sam Seder was the last talented host Air America had. I used to enjoy listening to Sam, Mike Maloy and Al Franken but it seems the station has veared away from the comical side and gone for the bland Public Broadcasting brand of talk radio. People want to be entertained as well as informed and Randi is just the same old thing every frickin day. Obama good Hillary bad. Having to listen to that every day and in reruns delivered in her grating ranting egotistical style has sent me to other stations during my work day. "They ought to fire her arrogant ass and bring back Sam Seder and get away from all the venomous dem attacks that the station is currently overflowing with.

[RogerHWerner]

I listened to Rhodes' monologue and I can't imagine what all the fuss is about. It was a stand up comic routine on politics. Big deal. It was sort of funny but mostly spot on with respect to its description of political behavior. We might argue about Rhodes' choice of words (BFW is a tad crude) but can anyone seriously question the fact that most politicians prostitute themselves with campaign contributors and lobbyists? Let's examine the recent Senate bill concerning home mortgages: Who does this bill favor? Certainly not homeowners. This bill is the most recent, egregious example of politicians favoring corporations and the rich over average citizens. Air America may prefer to suppress frank talk about conflicts between politicians and corporate financial supporters but they nevertheless exists, and, it isn't hard to connect the dots between politicians, lobbyists, corporate support, and legislation . Quite honestly, the behavior of American politicians is a form of whoredom (OK, prostitution is a less crude description).

Since Rhodes offered some support for her comments about Ferraro and Clinton, they were not strictly speaking an "ad hominem abusive" attack. In my opinion, Rhodes might be admonished for her poor choice of words but the content of her presentation was broadly accurate. I suppose Air America being a private entity that does not use the public air waves has a right to suppress what they felt was abuse but I wonder if AA's response would have been the same if Rhodes called Bush or Cheney

[ProgressiveJ]

This is about a lot more than a "poor choice of words." we are talking about the first female candidate in our country's history who has been in a competitive race for the white house; the first female candidate to ever win a SINGLE state in a primary election. Why on Earth the left wing is castigating her and using such derogatory, anti-feminist language is simply appalling and unbelievable. That the Obama campaign has laid the groundwork for such ferocity is the worst part about it all.

[Devilsh]

Bull pucky! Hate to say it but in case you didn't notice; people just don't what she does. Her evasive language and behavior, her feigned outrage, her lies and her always jumping the side that will gain her popularity even when against her own stated principles.

Sounds "whorish" to me be it man or woman. That is what Randy was saying, pretty simple.

[tish]

What if a prominent Clinton supporter had called Obama a political whore or a pimp? Would you be so eager to explain away this kind of abusive characterization? I don't think so, especially since Obama is the viewed by the Obamatans as their Messiah.

[thatvisionthing]

I've been called a lot of crap by Hillary supporters on this website. If you lay out your reasons, and why you're angry at Hillary, and why you will never vote for her, you get called a stupid hater by a screamer. Tell you what, I'm not only sick of Hillary, I'm sick of her supporters. Because they don't reason, they don't hear.

Randi has a feeling and a point of view about Hillary. Her job is to be over the top on the air. She's funny, she's in your face, she gives her reasons, she gives her sources, and on her website she even gives HOMEWORK. http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/live// - scroll down bottom left) She says, don't believe me, don't believe anybody you hear on the radio, go do your homework. Her listeners love her for it, which is who she was facing in that private audience. She has a right to her opinion and she gets paid to express it. She was expressing it appropriately to a private audience who knew her. She did not post the You Tube. She has been wronged.

On the other hand, great publicity move for Air America, and for getting Randi's view exposed. Love the You Tube! Thank you HuffPo!

[stsparky]

And being a whore is bad? Worse than being an actual War Criminal? Oh please. America loves its whores. Will this make Hillary a shoo-in? I hope not.

[Totto]

Randi said "off air" what most of us have been thinking. AAR ought to be more resistant to pressure from the Clintons (who do nothing to support progressive radio) and that miserable racist Ferraro. Don't AAR "talent" have any right to freedom of speech?

[Brutus1]

No Totto, most people don't think that, just a little group of small minded people such as yourself.
It's really sad that you are so filled with hate and rage. I'll pray for you.

[Totto]

There now, feeling better, sweetie?

[zesto]

Air America did the right thing with Suspending Randi....b­ut she does not warrant being fired. C'mon AA, she's got the ratings, a following, she gets it right about 90% of the time, and I adore her. I am a born and bred San Fran native used to diversity and far-out opinions. And Randi is east coast, edgy, gritty, tell it like it is. But substance should always reign over style (I like her style too) though reading these posts she has turned off a few of you). Her presentation may differ from Keith Olbemann (thank Buddah for Keith), but get her back on the air quick...sh­e is a voice that needs to be there.

[Islian]

I love you Randi. My advise? Eat some humble pie and apologize like you mean it. We so need your voice on Air America.

[Actionmac]

No, say what you want about any one except the clintons..­. BS let them take their lumps with the rest. To be called a whore as a politician, means that politician will say and do any thing to get elected. In that case Hillary is the biggest whore on the campaign then comes McCain who sold his ass to Bush. Need something to go make it CLOUT.

Air America is still trying to establish itself and Randi Rhodes is a reason they are gaining in strength, and looks like Rachael will be doing TV soon... Hey these are Women, WOW, they are the BACK BONE of Air America, and one is being SOLD OUT for the BOSS' WHORE.

I am a Black Man that can tell you that WHORE will NEVER be president, and not voting for Obama because he is black, because he is QUALIFIED more than Air Americas controlling DICK-traitor, Mark Greene's clinton. Mark Greene's WHORE clinton is trying to get McCain elected so she can bring her WHORE ass back in 2012. Not going to work African American's WE WILL NEVER HELP ELECT ANOTHER CLINTON even if it means going through another 4 YEARS of bush. We know what we are getting with McSame.

"It took the behavior of a clinton to lose the White House for the Democrats in 2000 and it will take the behavior of a clinton to keep the Democrats out of the White House in 2008".

[wyorange]

Gee, sounds like you might be one who bows with Rev. Wright!

[PardonMyFrenchFries]

Your the worst part of the democrat tent...
I will take pride in november in not voting for Obama.
Thanks to supporters like yourself. REAL CLASSY.

[BarryChamplain]

No apology necessary. Let Randi be the first Democrat NOT to apologize for anything. Tell the world she meant it, she's not sorry, and to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Then there's the practical matter of getting Randi back on the air: her high-powered lawyer sues what's left of AAR for breaching her contract; they get a court decision that the contract has been voided by AAR, and is therefore not in effect; and finally, she goes to work for NovaM Radio, fearless home of Mike Malloy (who has already hinted that their door is open for her!)

But what about Air America, you ask? Turn out the lights, party's over. Rachel will be seen nightly on MSNBC; Sam Seder and Thom Hartmann will be picked up by somebody who you know will market them better; and who the hell cares about the rest?

Because Air America Radio is WHO'S ON IT. Not the network structure. Which has sucked in every way, from Day One.

And then, this snake-bit brand can finally die its overdue death, and thus stop the right-wing pundits from using AAR's lameness to represent the inevitable failure of ALL "Liberal" Talk Radio (which just makes me insane, whenever I hear that!).

[jackiekahane]

I wouldn't advise Randi to eat anything else. For at least a year.

[jackiekahane]

I don't think we need THIS kind of discourse on AA. Arguing is fine. Bashing without back-up is just shock and odd. And why on earth go after Ferraro? We all know what she meant. Are we THAT CLOSE-MINDED? Quit giving the Right ammo.

[Brutus1]

Arguing with facts and reason is hard, calling people derogatory names is easy.

[thatvisionthing]

She didn't say it on AA. She said at a private event and it was posted on You Tube by somebody else. She argues fine, and she backs up what she says. Go to her website, she has a section there called HOMEWORK where she lists her sources and tells you not to believe her or any other public figure sheepishly, but go do your homework. Quit buying the right's ammo.

[sa]

trying to understand the firefight.

it looks as if the right
witnessed a wound of infighting,
and has POUNCED upon
a perceived opportunity to exploit
an advantage (not only is it democrat on democrat -
it's woman on woman! this is like republican porn
without all the penises.)

if only the right knew how
to exploit the rift between
sunnis and shiites as well.

ah well, in a perfect world...

have at it trolls,
go for it.
there is a lot at stake in victory here -
you have a popular left wing broadcaster
taking a shot at a major democratic presidential contender -
if you can get rhodes fired,
you win the combo platter -
hillary hurt
and an intelligent voice silenced.

in the end your best intentions
may have only put randi rhodes
on the national map.

god bless karma.

[LAShores]

Randi has every right to call Hillary a Bleeping Whore.
Hillary deserves it given the way she has run her campaign