BV Entertainment Newswire May 15

Shooting Star

Last week's chain of events surrounding the abrupt firing of notorious radio shock jock DJ Star --and his subsequent arrest-- have had a resounding effect in the hip-hop and broadcast communities.

"I was a fan of Star’s show [and] actually heard the incidents as they unfolded," nationally syndicated radio personality Wendy Williams told Black Voices. "I winced at what he was saying."

On May 10, radio conglomerate Clear Channel Radio announced it had cut ties to the notorious New York-based disc jockey, born Troi Torain, who helmed its wildly popular 'Star & Buc Wild Morning Show.' A statement was immediately issued on the heels of a press conference called by city council members condemning Torain for encroaching on the privacy and safety of Gia Casey, wife of rival radio personality DJ Envy (Raashaun Casey of Hot 97), and the couple’s four-year-old daughter.

According to transcripts from the show, Torain threatened family with indecent sexual and violent remarks: "Yes, I disrespected your seed. If you didn’t hear me, I said, I would like to do an R. Kelly on your seed, on your baby girl. I would like to tinkle on her.

"Where does this kid go to school? I got 500 bucks for that information," he added. "I will come for your kids. I finally got the information on [DJ Envy’s] slant-eyed whore wife."

Williams, who hosts her own controversial, syndicated radio show out of New York City's WBLS, admitted that she's a friend of Torain's, but did not agree with his off-color antics. "Talking about locating a child’s school and raping an innocent child is unthinkable and I couldn’t cosign with Star," she said. "As he made most of those statements I was driving my son to school, and fortunately he was preoccupied with his [Playstation Portable]."

Calling the remarks "wholly unacceptable," Clear Channel Senior Vice President Rob Williams said that Star "is no longer with Power 105.1 or Clear Channel Radio," on Wednesday evening. "We sincerely apologize to those who may have been offended by his remarks." The station played an all-music format the days following Star's departure.

Originally heard on Hot 97 (WQHT) in 2000, 'The Star & Buc Wild Show' debuted on Clear Channel's Power 105 (WWPR) in January 2005. A syndication deal with Premiere Radio Networks (a Clear Channel subsidiary) also made the program heard on stations in Philadelphia, Miami, Hartford, Richmond, and Savannah. Torain's compensation package with Clear Channel was a rumored $17 million for five years.

"I wasn't surprised that Clear Channel let him go," Los Angeles-based syndicated radio personality Tanya Hart told Black Voices. "They do have standards, and DJ Star's remarks clearly crossed a line. Not to say that line has never been crossed. It happens frequently in the radio ratings wars of shock jocks. …But how far is too far?"

An arrest warrant for illegal weapon charges was issued for Torain, 42, on Friday (May 12) afternoon. He was arrested and then charged with endangering the welfare of a child, after turning himself into a Lower Manhattan police precinct.

After being arraigned and pleading not guilty, he posted $2,000 cash bail within the hour, according to the 'Associated Press.' Former Sean "Diddy" Combs attorney Star's legal counsel, told reporters: "In a moment of frustration, he said something that was inappropriate. He regrets it and apologizes for it. ... He never intended to commit a crime, and he certainly never intended to frighten the family."

According to a source at Hot 97, all staff members have been asked not to talk to the media regarding this matter.

Starting today, a new show 'Live with Tigger and Egypt' will serve as a replacement for the 'Morning Show with Star and Buc Wild' on the rival station, Power 105. A Clear Channel spokesperson told Black Voices there were no permanent plans have for the interim show.

Criminal Court Judge Abraham Clott issued an order of protection barring Torain from contact with Casey and his family. He is scheduled to appear in court for the misdemeanor (weapons possession) charges on May 30.

"Certainly, Star crossed the line with this remarks … but there is this sudden uproar now as opposed to all of the outrageous behavior that is tolerated in African American culture," said veteran hip-hop journalist Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur. "This kind of activity has been continually promoted on morning radio in America.

"So, while Star was wrong, it would seem that pushing the envelope has been good for somebody's business," he added. "Nobody seems to know or care, what led up to those remarks."

When contacted by Black Voices, Torain's personal manager Wyatt Cheek, a former rap record label executive, said: "We are not ready to talk. We are not talking."

Oprah Gets Bush-Whacked

Due to a nationally televised address from President Bush, Oprah Winfrey's ABC special, 'Legend's Weekend,' will be pre-empted from its originally scheduled airing tonight, and postponed to May 22 at 8 p.m. ET. "Put your Legends Lemon Drop Martinis on ice for one more week, my friends," the multimedia mogul wrote on her website this morning. "We wanted to get the word out to you as soon as we heard that our Legends Primetime Special will air exactly one week later than originally scheduled."

Last week, Winfrey made the rounds in New York City to promote the show on several media outlets. She hosted an exclusive premiere at the Morgan Library on Thursday, bringing out celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Tyra Banks, Spike Lee, Smokey Robinson, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Pam Grier and Cicely Tyson. On Friday's episode of her talk-show, Winfrey encouraged her audience to host their own Legends' viewing parties.

"I'm so excited for you to see it," she said on the website. "And that gives you seven more days to plan your own Legend parties with your friends."

Still 'Beloved'

Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' has been selected as the single best work of American fiction published in the last 25 years, by a 'New York Times Book Review' survey of 124 prominent authors, critics and editors.

Respondents included Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners and Booker Prize winners, as well as many best-selling authors including Tom Wolfe, Stephen King and Carlos Fuentes. Each was asked to submit one title representing his or her choice for the best single work of American fiction published since 1980. No other guidance was provided, and jurors were not given a list of books to choose from. 'Beloved' received the most votes of any single work of fiction. The results of the survey, and a list of all 22 novels and short story collections that received multiple votes, will be published in the 'Book Review's' special all-fiction issue May 21 and listed on the newspaper's website.

The novel, published in 1987 by Alfred A. Knopf, won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was adapted into a Jonathan Demme-directed film in 1998, starring Oprah Winfrey, Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Thandie Newton.