The big media story this week in Southern California, of course, is KFI-AM 640 suspending afternoon hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou for calling Whitney Houston a “crack ho” on the air. Radio management forced Kobylt to issue an apology that no one believes, especially given that the two gleefully ridicule people asking them to apologize for far-worse remarks. JohnKen's fans, of course, are incensed, while their haters, of course, are gleeful but already dreading them returning on Feb. 27.
Perhaps the happiest person in this whole episode is talk radio legend Tom Leykis, a pioneer in talk radio who antagonized many a group and individual in his long career on KFI (until management replaced him with JohnKen when they decided to target the Know Nothing demographic) and KLSX-FM 97.1. His thoughts on their apology?
JohnKen are “total fucking pussies.”
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On Friday, Leykis appeared on the podcast of his producers, Gary Zabransky and Dino DeMilio, to laugh at JohnKen's cowardly capitulation to critics given they think of themselves as telling it like it is. After saying Kobylt's apology “sounded like [an] Arabian hostage video,” Leykis set it straight.
“I don't understand,” Leykis continued “saying you're–'We are so outrageous, we tell it like it is, we're crazy'-and then the minute there's some pressure, you suddenly become a total fucking pussy.”
Leykis, for the record, called Houston a “fucking crack ho–and if you don't like it, stop listening.” Usually a philosophy followed by KFI–but why the capitulation? Leykis–who still counts many radio personalities as close friends–figured someone in the African-American community threatened KFI with a boycott and that KFI brass–already weathering one by Mexis–decided to suspend JohnKen as to risk a complete meltdown.
Leykis returns April 2–can't wait!
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