In the midst of the controversy regarding her use of the N-word, Dr. Laura Schlessinger stopped by "Larry King Live" to very publicly quit her job in talk radio on August 17. Schlessinger has faced criticism this week after using the racial slur repeatedly when a black caller asked for advice about how to deal with her husband's racist acquaintances. (Listen to the call below, but be warned that the audio includes rough language... obviously.)
Dr. Laura told the caller that she was being over-sensitive before saying the N-word several times in a row. "I don't get it," Laura said. "If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing, but when black people say it, it's affectionate. It's very confusing."
She issued an apology later that night, which she reiterated to Larry King. "I was trying to make a point to help her, about what I felt about her hypersensitivity and in general, in America, our hypersensitivity about race instead of us feeling like e pluribus unum. And so, I upset some people, I offended some people, I hurt some people, and within 15 minutes I took myself off my show for the rest of the day because I realized I had blown it."
The response to the incident, which has included several sponsors pulling their money out of Laura's show, has prompted her to leave radio. "The reason is I want to regain my first amendment rights. I want to be able to say what's on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, and attack sponsors," she says.
She will not be retiring -- instead, she plans to use the internet as her medium of choice.
When King reminded Laura that just as she has a right to say what's on her mind, other people have the right to protest it, she told him that he was missing her point. "Yes, but I don't have the right to say what I need to say. My first amendment rights have been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don't want to debate, they want to eliminate. So that's why I decided it was time to move on to other venues where I could say my peace and not have to live in fear anymore."
"I never called anybody a bad word. I was trying to bring - and obviously it has become a national discussion now - I was trying to make a philosophical point, and I made it wrong, but I wasn't dissing anybody, and for that to say I must be silenced, I obviously am losing first amendment rights," Laura continued.
