Dr. Laura Schlessinger Apologizes for Using the N-Word on Air During Radio Show

Dr. Laura Schlessinger apologizes for using the word "nigger" on the air Tuesday in response to call from a black woman married to a white man.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger has apologized for using the word "nigger" on the air Tuesday during the "Take on the Day" show. She reportedly said she regretted it after the call was over. Here's an excerpt from Radio-Info:

She says “it was in the context of making a point about the unfortunate use of that term by others who deem it acceptable or funny…it is a word that is hateful, hurtful, and I should not have used it even to prove a point.”

LARadio.com carries comments from reader David Bernhart, who says “While it was clear that Dr. Laura wasn’t directing that term toward the [African-American] caller personally, I was shocked at such an example of schoolyard frustration.”

Dr. Laura Schlessinger was taking a call from a black woman married to a white man who wanted advice on dealing with derogatory language used by white people when speaking to her. Dr. Laura’s online apology is here. She says “after the call, I was terribly upset about it and after that hour of the program concluded, I pulled myself off the air for the rest of the show.”

I don't listen to her show, but it is a sad commentary that we are, once again, mired in the muck of racist rhetoric. I don't like the word and I take the same position when it is used by blacks, Latinos and whites. It is just plain wrong. The word is derogatory and many blacks have lost their lives because of the color of their skin. Sorry, Dr. Laura you shouldn't have uttered that word.

Listen to the audio: