January 18, 2011: Talk Show Host Who Used Racial Slurs Denies Wrongdoing, Says She Made ‘Important Point’ by Using Slurs

Talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who recently promised to leave the airwaves after repeatedly using the racial slur “n_igger” in conversation with an African-American woman (see August 10-18, 2010) before reversing course and signing a contract to appear on satellite radio (see November 26, 2010), denies doing anything objectionable in an NBC interview. Schlessinger appears as a guest on NBC’s Today show and is interviewed by Matt Lauer. Schlessinger says she was “astounded” by the criticism following her racially inflammatory tirade because “I didn’t call her a name and I brought up an important point,” referring to her repeated claims that using the term “n_gger” seems to be acceptable when used by black comedians. She says that “many parts of the black community” are responsible for “keeping that word alive,” not white conservatives such as herself. Schlessinger also falsely claims that the woman in the conversation “went to the NAACP and said I called her that name” on the air. She concludes that her “point was well made” but “inartfully” done. [Media Matters, 1/18/2011]