Offender: Ann Coulter on the O'Reilly Factor

Media Outlet: Aired on FOX 6/22/09

The Offense: Vocal far-right conservative Ann Coulter took anti-choice hate speech to a level even Bill O'Reilly couldn't support while discussing Dr. George Tiller's murder: "I don't really like to think of it as a murder. It was terminating Tiller in the 203rd trimester," said Coulter.

NOW's Analysis: For the past six years O'Reilly's loathsome "coverage" of Dr. Tiller's work as one of the four OB/GYNs in the country who perform late-term abortions for desperate women has ranged from calling him "Tiller the baby killer" to deeming his healthcare services "Nazi stuff" to stopping himself short of threatening vigilante justice against Tiller.

Even the right-wing O'Reilly pushed Coulter to retract her statement, to which she responded, "I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others." This all but sarcastic lip service is lost in the slew of radical, hateful ideas thrown around during this conversation: Coulter theorizes people aren't talking about Tiller "because they're all hungover from the Hooray-George-Tiller's-Dead party;" she claims Tiller, who she qualifies as "a man responsible for killing 60,000 babies," was just "doing it for the money;" and finally, she undoes her retraction with this comment:

"OK, their logic is, if you don't believe in abortion, don't get an abortion. Well, if you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist."

Coulter continues to belittle and downplay Tiller's heinous murder by contradicting O'Reilly's admission that the killing was an act of domestic terrorism, saying, "I think it was just a random nut." She goes on to misquote statistics about the size of the anti-choice population, which she claims is overwhelming peaceful, having killed "only five abortion doctors" in the past 35 years (the number of murders is actually eight). Apparently, pro-choicers are lucky more haven't been killed at the hands of right-wing hate mongers for the healthcare service they provide women.

This is just another example of how radical right-wing pundits like Coulter are leading us toward a hateful, distorted reality in which murdering a healthcare provider who provides a rare, safe, and completely legal service to women in need is not only accepted, but celebrated.

Take Action: Write to the Executive VP at Fox News and tell him what you think.

Jess Hobbs, NOW Communications Team, July 2, 2009

More offenders in : Television, Media, Reproductive Rights, Harassment, Intimidation, Media Hall of Shame

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 3.42/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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Offender: Rush Limbaugh on the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show
Media Outlet: Aired on radio stations nationwide 6/17/09 - syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications

The Offense: Radio host Rush Limbaugh mocks and belittles Sonia Sotomayor's participation in a women's Club – the Belizean Grove – which she recently left as a result of pressure from those opposed to the "discrimination" inherent in a woman-centric group: "I think I'm going to send Sotomayor, and her club, a bunch of vacuum cleaners to help them clean up after their meetings."

NOW's Analysis: This infamous radical right radio host has as much experience doling out sexism and racism as Sotomayor has facing the brunt of them.

Limbaugh glosses over the obvious disparity between women's support groups and men's exclusion groups with a crude and violent baby seal clubbing analogy. Aside from the fact that Sotomayor has explicitly demonstrated that the Belizean Grove is open and welcoming to men who do approach the group, there is literally no comparison between women's groups and men's groups. The "good ol' boys club" Limbaugh refers to is a longstanding tradition of systematically excluding women from the upper echelons of business, corporate, and government organizations. Clubs like the Belizean Grove, on the other hand, act as a support network for women striving for the recognition they deserve in male-dominated fields.

Though Limbaugh's rant focuses mainly on the injustice of Sotomayor's participation in the club—he even mockingly refers to her as a "model of diversity and inclusion"—the real insult comes at the very end of his segment, when he says, "I think I'm going to send Sotomayor, and her club, a bunch of vacuum cleaners to help them clean up after their meetings."

This remark clearly intends to belittle the Belizean Grove, and Sotomayor herself, and serves as a pathetic attempt to put these women back in their place, demoting them from successful, powerful business associates to mere vacuum operators. The implication here is that women should be definitionally house-ridden, an especially heinous concept when coupled with Sotomayor's Puerto Rican heritage and stereotypes about Latina cleaning women.

Take Action: Tell Kraig T. Kitchin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Premiere Radio Networks, what you think about Ruch Limbaugh's sexist, racist comments.

Jess Hobbs, NOW Communications Team, June 24, 2009

More offenders in : Sexist Piggery, Radio, Racism, Media Hall of Shame

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 3.11/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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Update: Letterman apologizes! Read about the apology and similar "jokes" in The Washington Post.

Offender: David Letterman on "Late Show with David Letterman"

Media Outlet: CBS, aired 6/8/09

The Offense: Late night TV host David Letterman "joked" that during their recent trip to New York, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter "was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez" during a Yankees baseball game. The next night Letterman said that the hardest part of Palin's trip was "keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter."

NOW Analysis: After two nights of "jokes" at the expense of Palin and her family, Letterman tried to explain himself and offer something of an apology. On his June 10 show, Letterman said he was referring to Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol -- not the 14-year-old daughter who actually accompanied Palin on her New York trip. Letterman said "I recognize that these are ugly" jokes. NOW agrees. Comedians in search of a laugh should really know better than to snicker about men having sex with teenage girls (or young women) less than half their age.

The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days -- it is exploitative and has a negative effect on how all women and girls are perceived and how they view themselves. Letterman also joked about what he called Palin's "slutty flight attendant look" -- yet another example of how the media love to focus on a woman politician's appearance, especially as it relates to her sexual appeal to men. Someone of Letterman's stature, who appears on what used to be known as "the Tiffany Network" (CBS), should be above wallowing in the juvenile, sexist mud that other comedians and broadcasters seem to prefer.

On that point, it's important to note that when Chelsea Clinton was 13 years old she was the target of numerous insults based on her appearance. Rush Limbaugh even referred to her as the "White House dog." NOW hopes that all the conservatives who are fired up about sexism in the media lately will join us in calling out sexism when it is directed at women who aren't professed conservatives.

Take Action: Write to CBS and tell them what you think.

Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director, June 11, 2009

More offenders in : Objectification of Women, Television, Media Hall of Shame

Rank this item with our Misogyny Meter: Currently 3.68/5 1 2 3 4 5 i

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