A George FM discussion on the topic of “Would you lose $16,000, or suck a man's penis?” has raised concern from some LGBT listeners. George FM has been a significant presence in recent Hero Festivals. At around 11.30pm on last Monday night's ‘Hammertime' show, the host asked male listeners "would you lose $16,000, as in you had it but now you don't, or would you suck a man's penis?" Host James O'Rourke then asked for text replies to the question, and every few minutes thereafter replies were read out on air. “Openly homophobic callers said ‘not the dick no way' type of stuff, with laughter and agreement in studio background,” says one gay listener of several who alerted GayNZ.com to the broadcast. The previous week's show also prompted concern. “I heard the host James talking to overseas caller who asked him how the gay thing went - referring to James having DJ'd at the ‘Big Gay Out' the afternoon before," recounted a gay listener. "James replied that it was ‘all good' and he ‘got his gay on', and then suggested it was time to move on to something more cool”. George FM proclaims itself ‘the world's gayest radio station' and was a key sponsor of this year's Hero Festival which is organised by the NZ AIDS Foundation as part of its community support activities. The AIDS Foundation's Executive Director, Rachael Le Mesurier, says the George FM comments were surprising in view of the support the NZAF and the GLBT community has got from the station over the years. “It may be of value for George FM to remind some of their staff that making fun of a minority is the sort of thing Radio Live does for cheap laughs and is very uncool,” she commented. George FM's Station Manager Jef Kay says he didn't hear that particular show and when contacted for a statement said he was waiting for a transcript. “James... probably thought he was being clever or funny,” says Kay. “He had a clever feature, which is relevant to Hero – but in retrospect I'd say it probably came over as bad taste. But it certainly wasn't intended to offend and certainly wasn't homophobic at all. That's just not what the station's about. “I assure you James is not trying to diss anyone or put anyone down. He's not homophobic - he volunteered his time the previous day at the Big Gay Out as one of the DJ's. "George FM tries very hard indeed to support worthy causes, and the whole Hero Festival is something very dear to our heart,” continues Kay. “We've been involved in the Hero Festival for as long as George has been around, which is eight years”. Ref: GayNZ.com (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Monday, 26th February 2007 - 12:00pm