CBS Radio has suspended two New York City shock jocks after they broadcast a racially charged prank call to a Chinese restaurant.
Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay, hosts of WFNY-FM's The Dog House With JV and Elvis, are in hot water over a prank call that involved asking one Chinese man to "tell me about your tiny egg roll" and placing an order for "very large slimp flied lice."
CBS is still recovering from the Don Imus scandal, involving racially charged comments about the black members of a women's basketball team.
The remarks sparked an outcry from African-Americans and the New York shock jock was fired.
The Imus scandal sparked a renewed sensitivity over the kind of language used on radio and over the so-called humour practised by shock jocks.
Local chapters of the Organization of Chinese Americans, an advocacy group, released a statement Sunday protesting the segment.
Ben Fong-Torres, radio critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, called for JV and Elvis to be fired.
"The more people get really penalized for doing this kind of stuff — this demeaning, insulting, derogatory, racist kind of material in the guise of humour —the better off we are," Fong-Torres said.
Vandergrift and Lay were fired from San Francisco radio station KYLD in 2005 for what were characterized as sexist comments.
The pair have been campaigning online and on the air in support of Imus since his firing.
The JV and Elvis segment involving a call to a Chinese restaurant aired April 5, a day after Imus' comments.
The caller used lewd language, telling one female employee he wants to come to the restaurant to see her naked and referring to a part of her body as "hot, Asian, spicy.
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The segment was rebroadcast last week, despite the full-blown scandal over Imus' comments.
The show can only be heard in New York City and over the internet.
"If they don't fire the DJs, it will be a double standard," said Vicki Shu Smolin, president of the New York City chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans.
CBS said it has suspended the hosts indefinitely without pay, but has not said when it will decide on their future.
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Keywords: New York, New York City, York City, Chinese Americans, Fong Torres, San Francisco, Toronto Raptors
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