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Stephen of Borg

Dog the Bounty Hunter TV Series Suspended Due To Racial Insults

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Bounty’ Show Is Suspended

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: November 1, 2007

 

The cable channel A&E has suspended production on the popular show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” after the show’s star, Duane Dog Chapman, was said to have been overheard expressing racist insults in two recorded phone calls.

 

The National Enquirer, a tabloid newspaper, published on its Web site yesterday afternoon an audio tape in which it said Mr. Chapman could be heard “directing his racist hatred at his son Tucker’s girlfriend.”

 

A&E responded swiftly, saying in a statement last night that it “has just learned of the story released by The National Enquirer concerning Duane Dog Chapman.”

 

“We take this matter very seriously,” the channel said. “Pending an investigation, we have suspended production on the series. When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action.”

 

Sad news, it is one of the TV series I like. <_<

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Apparently, A & E considers The National Enquirer to be a real news source............ <_<

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now it came out that the son of Dog sold the phone conversation to the tabloids for a lot of cash

 

HONOLULU - Television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's son taped a private phone conversation in which the reality star used a racial slur repeatedly, then sold it to a tabloid for "a lot of money," Chapman's lawyer said Thursday.

 

 

 

"I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner," attorney Brook Hart told The Associated Press.

 

Tucker Chapman could not be reached for comment; no one answered the telephone at a Honolulu number listed under his name.

 

The National Enquirer on Wednesday posted on its Web site a clip of a conversation in which Duane Chapman, star of the hit A&E series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," repeatedly used the N-word in reference to Tucker's girlfriend.

 

Chapman later apologized to his son and the woman, then learned about how the tape got into the tabloid's hands, Hart said.

 

A&E has suspended production of the series, saying the network takes the matter seriously.

 

"When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action," A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said in a statement Thursday.

 

The show, in its fifth season and one of A&E's top-rated programs, has not been canceled.

 

An after-hours telephone message for David Perel, the Enquirer's editor in chief, was not immediately returned. But earlier in the day, Perel declined to say how the tape was obtained, saying what mattered was what's on the tape.

 

In the conversation, Chapman urges Tucker to break up with his girlfriend. He also expresses concern about the girlfriend trying to tape and go public about the TV star's use of the N-word.

 

Chapman has said he was "disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term." He also said he was ashamed of himself and pledged to make amends.

 

Hart said his client is not a racist and vowed never to use the word again.

 

"I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character," he said. "Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets."

 

The TV series follows Chapman and his tattooed crew as they track down bail jumpers in Hawaii and other states. The show also stars some members of Chapman's family, but Tucker Chapman is not regularly featured.

 

The Honolulu-based bounty hunter first grabbed headlines for apprehending serial rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003.

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If my kid recorded a private conversation and sold it to a tabloid, I would disown him. Is there no such thing as privacy anymore? He's lucky that Dog doesn't prosecute him. It is illegal to tape a phone conversation without first telling everyone involved that the conversation is being taped.

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I suspect someone will be left out of the will....

 

I find this very disturbing - regardless of what we personally think of Chapman's personal opinions - a person shouldn't lose their job because of what they say in the privacy of their own home. What the son did was wrong and I think A&E was wrong to shut down the show. The precedent set by this sort of reaction is what disturbs me.

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The times I have watched his show it shows him praying, I assume he considers him self a Christian. I think it is a good thing his show was suspended. We tend to look at our selfs with rose colored glasses and never really confront our selfs with our failings. This will give him a chance to pray for strength and change in his life.

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I have absolutely no sympathy for Chapman. And I could care less if his privacy was invaded. I'm sick and tired of racists like him, who smile and wave at you and then call you a (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't) or a spic behind closed doors. How long do we as a society tolerate these morons? No. We make a stand and say in no uncertain terms no more. I'm glad his show was pulled. I hope he looses more, in fact. Good for Tucker Chapman. Frankly, I'm appalled at all the people making excuses for him.

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I have absolutely no sympathy for Chapman. And I could care less if his privacy was invaded. I'm sick and tired of racists like him, who smile and wave at you and then call you a (I'm trying to say a bad word but can't) or a spic behind closed doors. How long do we as a society tolerate these morons?

 

The problem is - what about the people who may or will sometime in the future consider you a moron? I was reading about this on another thread and the example they used was those who oppose gay marriage on religious grounds - if they applied the principal you support all conservative Christians would not be tolerated.

 

This isn't defending him - it's concern over the precedent it sets.

Edited by TheUnicornHunter

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In my opinion, that's a blanket cop out used to excuse guys like Chapman everytime they open their big mouths and make fools of themselves. And it's exactly the reason racism is on the rise again, with nooses being hung all over the northeast and young kids gravitating toward fringe groups like the skinheads. I play HALO online, and you should see some of the names of the servers that host the games. Today alone there were servers called "Kill all Jews" and "(I'm trying to say a bad word but can't)s must die". For the most part these are young kids naming those servers. Not adults. And when we give the Duane Chapman's of the world a pass because we don't want to restrict our precious freedom of speech, then they realize they can get away with murder.

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SoK, I understand your point but you didn't address mine - the next time it might happen to someone you don't necessarily consider evil but someone else does.

 

And this isn't about "Free Speech" as much as it is about "due process" - that's guaranteed in the consitution too. It's just the idea of firing someone because of something someone said without giving that person an opportunity to present their side - even if it's a losing argument both sides need to be heard.

 

As for racisim in general - there's a thread in itself. I think there are a lot of reasons racism is on the rise and getting rid of Chapman isn't going to change it. I also believe there are people who would never use an "epithet" but are just as racist it's just they know how to be PC.

 

Maybe we need to get rid of video games if they're incubating such a culture?

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SoK, I understand your point but you didn't address mine - the next time it might happen to someone you don't necessarily consider evil but someone else does.

 

And this isn't about "Free Speech" as much as it is about "due process" - that's guaranteed in the consitution too. It's just the idea of firing someone because of something someone said without giving that person an opportunity to present their side - even if it's a losing argument both sides need to be heard.

 

As for racisim in general - there's a thread in itself. I think there are a lot of reasons racism is on the rise and getting rid of Chapman isn't going to change it. I also believe there are people who would never use an "epithet" but are just as racist it's just they know how to be PC.

 

Maybe we need to get rid of video games if they're incubating such a culture?

I agree that due process is an important part of any decision. Someone at my workplace recently was sent packiing because of a heated exchange over attending a meeting. No suspension, no probationary period, just - You're gone!

 

Racism is a real problem today, and one that won't be solved overnight. I also agree that there are people who know how to behave in a PC manner who still hold racist attitudes.

 

Video games could be another whole thread too. I saw one yesterday on the internet at the library with two robots each trying to kill each other (& while I think about it one was mostly balck & the other was shinier and whiter). While this is violence rather than racism, I think we need to look at what companies are churning out under the name of entertainment. I do not favor censorship, but the idea of material easily available to kids that does not conform to commonly held community and/or moral values that is marketed to kids is troubling to me.

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I watched the Larry King interview and I think Dog did good at explaining himself and he did seem genuinely sorry, apologizing many times. They did a poll at the end of the show and asking whether his show should be cancelled and 82% (over 60,000 votes) said no.

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Dr. Phil was on Larry King last night was on and said that he doesn't think Dog is a racist and should get his show back. They showed another poll and now 87% (over 110,000 votes) say that Dog should stay on the air

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I think Dog will be back. They are just going to wait until everything dies down a bit. It will go just like it did for Don Imus, who may already be back on the air.

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Don Imus is still fighting to get back on the air. the only way he gets back on the air, is if someone managed to turn back time by 7 months, and prevent him from opening his big mouth in the first place.

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I saw this individual on CNN talking to Larry King. His excuse was pathetic that he was using the "n-word" because he thought he was "one with black people" and they use it as a term of endearment.

 

Go away you sad sad bigoted man.

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What I keep thinking about is the part of the conversation when Dog said that the family would freak if Lyssa (his daughter) dated a black guy. That and other comments blow his pathetic claims of not being a racist out of the water. Being multi-cultural, I grew up around bigots on all sides and it doesn't take much talk for me to distinguish a guy who made a bad decision in the heat of the moment, from a genuine racist. Chapman is genuine. He's sorry all right. Sorry he lost his show. Sorry he won't be making as much money. And sorry his son and Tucker's girlfriend nailed him. But sorry for saying what he said? No way.

 

I heard Imus, too. While I think Imus is just a fool in general. His comments about Rutgers didn't strike me as truly racist. He just said something dumber than ususal. But Chapman was speaking from his heart. I'll never be convinced otherwise.

 

I'm sick and tired of these pinheads.

Edited by Son of Kor

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Don Imus is still fighting to get back on the air. the only way he gets back on the air, is if someone managed to turn back time by 7 months, and prevent him from opening his big mouth in the first place.

Actually, Imus has already signed a contract to return to the air.........unfortunately.....

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