XM shock jocks apologize for sex comment (May 12, 2007)

Guess you can't get away with anything you say on the satellite. What's next? The Internet?

Opie and Anthony, a pair of unfunny shock jocks heard on XM Radio made an apology on Friday for airing a homeless man's crude comments about what he'd like to do with Condoleezza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. I won't bother reprinting what exactly he wanted to do, but thinking about it almost made me turn myself into UCSD to donate my body to science.

The crude remarks were made by Homeless Charlie and it aired on the Wednesday show. As the name of each woman came up, the guest said he would like to do something with her using wording not fit for a family newspaper or television newscast.

XM Radio, based in Washington, condemned the remarks.

"We deplore the comments made on Wednesday's 'Opie & Anthony Show,'" XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown told The Associated Press on Friday. He would not say whether XM planned to take disciplinary action.

Opie and Anthony, whose full names are Anthony Cumia and Greg "Opie" Hughes, apologized to listeners on Friday's show.

So far, there are no federal restrictions on what you can say on satellite radio, but that doesn't mean that the feds won't be considering policing what people say on the satellite in the future.

According to XM's Web site, the radio service has parental controls that allow users to block access to channels that frequently contain explicit language. Those channels are designated with an "XL" notation.

The remarks could become an issue as XM seeks approval from the Federal Communications Commission to merge with New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade magazine Inside Radio.

O&A allowed "Homeless Charlie" to use the f-word on the satellite-only radiocast in regard to Condi Rice, Queen Elizabeth and First Lady Laura Bush. The incident did not air on the terrestrial show that originates at CBS Radio's WFNY.

How big is the blowup? The timing's bad, since XM and Sirius hope to persuade Congress, FCC and the DOJ that they should be allowed to merge.