Melbourne radio host Jon Faine has dropped the ‘n-word’ on air this morning, during a discussion over the growing storm in America around sporting stars refusing to stand for the American national anthem.
During his popular ABC 774 morning program, Faine took a call from ‘Cam in Caroline Springs’.
Things went downhill almost immediately.
CALLER: I just wanted to say about the America sports issue, I saw a film on the weekend, ‘I am not your negro’, about the civil rights activist, James Baldwin and….
FAINE: [Interrupting] I think it’s actually… is it ‘I’m not your negro?’
CALLER: That’s correct, yes
FAINE: Ok, or is it ‘I’m not your N*gger? Which one is it?’
CALLER: Negro.
FAINE: It’s Negro, okay, because they’re both words that are completely not used in polite conversation anywhere in North America now.
A note to Jon Faine… they’re not used anywhere in Australia in polite conversation either… and particularly not on public radio.
The on-air segment was tweeted out by prominent Melbourne comedian Aamer Rahman a short time ago. Rahman had the decency to bleep out the offending word.
The racial sensitivities of Melbourne ABC hosts are coming under increasing scrutiny of late – last week, AFL star Hèretier Lumumba took aim at Waleed Aly, now host of Channel 10’s The Project but at one time the fill-in presenter for Faine, over an interview that Aly aired recently.
NEW M ATILDA IS CURRENTLY BEING THREATENED WITH A LAWSUIT BY CHANNEL 7 FOR CALLING TODAY TONIGHT ‘TRASHY’. YOU CAN HELP US ESTABLISH A LEGAL FIGHTING FUND BY CHIPPING IN A FEW BUCKS HERE.
In a lengthy essay, Lumumba accused Aly of running interference for ‘white supremacists’ by grilling him over his experience with racism within the AFL, and stating on air that there was more goodwill towards Lumumba from the AFL than Lumumba realized.
Lumumba blew the whistle on AFL racism in an SBS documentary, Fair Game, which aired several weeks ago, and was promptly branded as ‘mentally unwell’ by the AFL and his former Collingwood team-mate turned coach Nathan Buckley.
Caller: Brings up James Baldwin
Jon Faine: Drops the n-word live on air, talks about how it’s ‘not used any more in North America’
Audio: pic.twitter.com/8fvfQYExcg
— Aamer Rahman (@aamer_rahman) September 25, 2017