Radio host fired for comparing Halle Berry and Serena Williams to ‘BURNT TOAST’ saying he’d ‘never go to Serena level’
A RADIO host was fired on Wednesday for comments comparing Halle Berry and Serena Williams to "burnt toast" and stating he would “never go” to the tennis pro’s level.
Rob Lederman, a host of Morning Bull with 97 Rock New York, apologized over the remarks, in which he also claimed that CBS News host Gayle King is “not even on my toaster level."
On Wednesday morning’s show, Lederman had led a conversation about having “toaster settings” for black women to lay out “the attractiveness of women that I find to be attractive.”
“I may get into trouble for this,” he began.
“I will never go to a level, but I’m very comfortable with a level.”
Lederman was axed late on Wednesday night when the clip was met immediate uproar from listeners and anti-racism activists.
Mayor Byron Brown condemned Lederman's comments about Williams and Berry, calling them “outrageous and intolerable.”
Advertisers such as Roswell Park and West Herr Automotive Group also began to boycott the station and pulled their promotion schedule.
It added that the company “operates from a clearly-defined set of programming principles and there is no question that Rob Lederman’s comments made on The Morning Bull Show are in direct violation of those principles.
“We apologize, and deeply regret the incident,” the statement concluded.
“It’s just not who I am. So, when I heard that, and heard how it sounded, I was like, 'Oh, my God, that sounds terrible.' Now, can I take back those words? No. If you listen to them, were they meant to be hurtful? Absolutely not.”
The disgraced host added that he wanted to "learn from this,” and apologized “to anybody that would be hurt” by his words.
As well as his suspension from the show, co-host Gaenzler has also been fired from his role as an arena host for Sabres and Bandits games by Pegula Sports & Entertainment.
The company branded the remarks “unacceptable” and “inappropriate.”
“There is no place for them in our community,” Pegula added in a statement.
University at Buffalo Athletics also issued a statement regarding Gaenzler’s future as a sports announcer.
“The University at Buffalo Division of Athletics is committed to sustaining a culture of diversity and inclusion and strongly denounces racism in all forms. Rich Gaenzler is not currently under contract with UB Athletics,’ it said.
“We will move forward with selection of another public address announcer for UB football games next season.”
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Wednesday morning’s episode of Morning Bull has since been removed from 97 Rock’s podcasts and the show did not air on Thursday morning.
Lederman was considered one of 97 Rock’s most high-profile names and also enjoyed a career as a stand-up comic, owning Rob’s Comedy Playhouse.