Dean Blundell Show suspended by 102.1 the Edge
The morning shock jocks on the Dean Blundell Show have been taken off the air "effective immediately" following a series of homophobic jokes between the show's producer, Derek Welsman, and the other presenters.
In a statement, Corus Entertainment, the company that owns 102.1 the Edge, said the suspension "will allow us to review our internal practices to ensure that our programming is compliant with our station's policies, as well as community and broadcast standards."
The producer's remarks were in reference to the sexual assault trial of Joshua Dowholis, in which Welsman was the jury foreman. Before finding Dowholis guilty of all charges, Welsman was required to swear on a Bible that he had no prejudice toward homosexuals.
"If anyone wants to get into the backdoor business, I can give you some tips," Welsman said. Later, after the conviction, he described the Dowholis' reaction: "When you said guilty, was he like, 'Hot diggity dog! Everybody dance now?' When he phoned home, 'Good news, Mom ... I'm going straight to the showers.'"
A Toronto Star story earlier this week exposed the situation.
Earlier this week, Dean Blundell issued an audio apology for the behaviour. "We both made rude, homophobic, and inappropriate remarks, which were offensive and unacceptable. We offended a lot of listeners, our families, and our friends," he said.
"Those conversations were not entertaining. They were plain and simply wrong. For this I sincerely apologize."
The judge in the case has declined to order an inquiry, though Kathryn Wells, lawyer for the convicted man, is planning an appeal. In the meantime, Blundell and company are off the air. Will it be for good?
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
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