Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls Imus comments 'disgusting'
By: Associated Press - | ∞
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the highest-ranking black woman in government history, said Friday the racist, sexist comments that got radio shock jock Don Imus fired were "disgusting."
In her first public remarks on the controversy, Rice said Imus had insulted not only female athletes but all young black women by referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos."
"They're 18- and 19-year-old women," she said. "And what were they doing except showing that they're really fine athletes, playing under extraordinary pressure in which for them was a dream season.
"And it gets ruined by this disgusting -- and I'll use the word 'disgusting' -- comment which doesn't belong in any polite company and certainly doesn't belong on any radio station that I would listen to," Rice told talk show host Michael Medved.
"I just thought that it was an attack on women's sports, first of all, and secondly an attack on very accomplished young black women in a way that was really offensive," she said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the State Department.
Rice declined to offer an opinion on Imus's firing but said she was "very glad that there was, in fact, a consequence" for the remarks.
Imus was fired by CBS radio on Thursday as the controversy over his remarks last week grew and advertisers began to pull support for his show, "Imus in the Morning," which regularly featured Washington insiders.
Rice, according to her spokesman Sean McCormack, never appeared on the program.
More Stories
- Movie stars, other entertainers help Franken get off to big start
- Fresno's deputy mayor resigns after sexual harassment probe
- Vice president chastises Democrats during Chicago stop; Pelosi stands by her trip to Syria
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls Imus comments 'disgusting'
- Bushes: $186,378 federal taxes on income of more than three-quarters of a million dollars
Advertisement
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement