Don Imus raised over $1.3 million for charity today on CBS Radio-owned WFAN in New York, then was fired by the company for the inappropriate remarks he made last week.
From
The New York Times:
For four and a half hours this morning, he turned his radio program into a live fundraiser for three charities — two benefiting children with cancer, and the other for families that have lost babies to sudden infant death syndrome — an endeavor he has undertaken each of the last 18 years.
Among the guests were children and parents who had been the beneficiaries of his efforts — particularly the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer, a program that the host founded on his New Mexico ranch along with his wife, Deirdre.
“It was an honor to be at your son’s funeral,” he said to one woman, whose cancer-stricken son had been a guest at what is essentially a western-themed camp for sick children.
At several points, he lashed out at the “hypocrisy” of the media coverage of the fallout from his remarks, and “the lack of support from people like Harold Ford,” the former Tennessee congressman who is black and whom the talk show host had touted repeatedly throughout his recent, failed bid for a Senate seat.
He also expressed bitterness that MSNBC had “pulled the plug” on televising his program less than 12 hours before the fundraiser was to begin. “They got their pound of flesh and made their decision,” he said.
And yet, Mr. Imus also emphasized that, ultimately, he alone was to blame for his predicament.
"I said a stupid, idiotic thing that hurt these kids,” he said of the Rutgers players. “If I hadn’t have said it, we wouldn’t be here. So let’s stop whining about it.”
