Radio Host Fired for Comparing Black Skin to Toaster Settings

A Buffalo, New York, radio host was fired and his co-hosts were suspended for racist and misogynistic comments during a segment in which the skin of famous Black women was compared to toaster settings. “I may get into trouble for this,” 97Rock host Rob Lederman said before launching into the offensive bit. However, a day later, after he had been canned, Lederman claimed he couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth. “I could easily see how someone could be offended by that. I get that,” Lederman told the Buffalo News, exhibiting a gift for extreme understatement. “It sounds terrible, and it is terrible... Now, can I take back those words? No. If you listen to them, were they meant to be hurtful? Absolutely not.”