According reports sent to Media Mouse and reports on the Internet (1, 2), local West Michigan DJ David Fox has been fired from his job at WGRD. Fox was reportedly fired on Aril 18, 2007 for comments that he made on the air. According to reports of what was said, Fox played the song "Smack My Bitch Up" by Prodigy and made comments once the song concluded referencing "smacking the bitch up" to which a caller on air at the time said something to the effect of "she has two black eyes don't she?"
A little more than a year ago, Media Mouse concluded a study examining David Fox's on-air comments and his repeated misogynistic, sexist, and occasionally racist statements. During that time, we documented statements by Fox degrading women, making homophobic insults, and expressing support for prostitution. The study was launched following comments by David Fox and co-host Lukas D repeatedly speaking about prostitutes and even threatening violence towards them. Ironically, one of these exchanges from 2005 featured references to the song "Smack My Bitch Up" and spoke of violence towards women:
Caller 5: We cannot figure out who sings that "Firestarter" song.
DF: It's the group hat sings "Smack My Bitch Up."
Luke: Prodigy.
Caller 5: Prodigy, there you go, Prodigy, alright, awesome. Thank you very much.
DF: Hey thank you don't cut it, I want something else in like a monetary form.
Luke: Yup, we want money.
DF: Some hookers.
Caller 5: Got no cash, spent it all on beer at the Griffins game.
DF: Ahh, some whores down on the red light district sound sorta nice.
Luke: Dude, send some of those Division girls up to the studio.
Caller 5: Alright buddy. Hey, play that song at 9:45 would ya?
DF: We'll play it when we wanna play it. Beat it.
DF: See, we're not gonna do "firestarter" cause if we get some of those, uhh, ladies of the night. What are we going to do to them?
Luke: Throw them off the boat, smack my bitch up!
Of course, while David Fox's firing is long over due, WGRD still promotes misogyny and patriarchal views of women and the problem is bigger than David Fox. The station has hosted contests at local sexploitation club Tini Bikini's and is currently heavily promoting a "pregnancy pageant," while their photo galleries feature regular appearances by WGRD DJs at Hooters.
Dave Fox was the only liberal on WGRD. Way to go, uptight protester types.
He was the only anti-war voice on the station, and he constantly commented that he couldn't wait to vote in '08 to get Bush out of the White House.
Who are you people? Do you ever laugh at yourselves?
Perhaps David Fox was more "liberal" on the war, but that is irrelevant to the issue at hand. He consistently degraded women, used homophobic insults, and promoted patriarchal and misogynist forms of culture. That is why he needed to go and I'm quite glad to see him out of there. I just wishing that y'all would have ditched the rest of the patriarchal crap at the same time.
Also, it seems weird to me that we are talking about DJs having specific ideological points of view on a station that plays commercialized and primarily apolitical music.
Lastly, we laugh a lot... we just don't find advocating violence against women to be funny, whether it is in David Fox's comments or in your continued on-air advocacy of an occupation of iraq that has had a particularly devestating effect on women.