Governor Phil Murphy named Gurbir Grewal as attorney general. Brian Johnston
A pair of talk radio hosts who repeatedly referred to New Jersey's Sikh attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, as "turban man" and "the guy with the turban" on Wednesday were removed from the airwaves "until further notice" following charges of racism and xenophobia.
The station, NJ 101.5-FM, announced the decision to reprimand hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco on its website around midnight. By then the hosts were at the center of a firestorm on social media and the governor had called for the station to take action against the veteran radio personalities.
"We are aware of the offensive comments made by Dennis and Judi during today’s broadcast," the station said. "We have taken immediate action and have taken them off the air until further notice. We are investigating the matter and will have further comment shortly."
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Murphy, who prides himself on having assembled the most diverse Cabinet in state history, took offense at the hosts' comments.
“I’m outraged by the abhorrent and xenophobic comments made earlier today mocking Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on 'The Dennis & Judi Show' on New Jersey 101.5," Murphy said in a statement. "Hate speech has no place in New Jersey, and it does not belong on our airwaves. Station management must now hold the hosts accountable for these intolerant and racist comments.”
...The ACLU pushed back against the hosts' reasoning for referring to Grewal the way they did, pointing out that Murphy's full name is "probably less phonetic" than Grewal's.
"Racism isn't cute. It's just racist," the organization wrote on Twitter...
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Related article on the apology from the radio host: Radio Host Apologizes for Offense Towards NJ AT Gurbir Grewal