SHOCKED JOCK

     By now, I'm sure we've all heard the story about how Anthony Cumia of the popular SiriusXM show "Opie and Anthony" was fired from the show right before Fourth of July weekend for posting some pretty racist Tweets on Twitter about a black woman who punched him in the face in Times Square. For those of you who live under a rock and have no clue who "Opie and Anthony" are, they're an extremely popular radio show, who at one time gave the Great Howard Stern a run for his money as far as radio shock jocks go. It was O and A who coined the phrase "Whip 'Em Out Wednesday" or simply seen on bumper stickers as "W.O.W." Yes, I know that you've seen them on cars, but probably never knew what those stickers meant. Well, back when O and A were making their bones in NYC back when I was still at Z100, they ran this campaign on Wednesdays where if women saw these bumper stickers on cars, they were urged to lift their tops and show the bearer of the sticker their boobs. Those were some great days! I've never seen so many boobs in my life until that time period and I never even had a sticker!

     Anyway, today, Anthony, after two decades on the air and three firings (oh yeah, he was also fired in Boston for running an April Fool's Day joke saying that the mayor of Boston was dead.), says he's going off the airwaves for good after his recent SiriusXM firing. Anthony was fired on Friday from SiriusXM for a series of racially charged tweets. He says that he plans on doing a live podcast-style broadcast from Long Island home studio. One source said that Anthony is pretty much "history as far as any corporate-owned media are concerned."

     Cumia, who is 53, would most likely recruit many of the comic regulars featured on the O and A show like Jimmy Norton, Bill Burr, Jim Florentine, and Nick DPaolo, just to name a few. Though, Anthony has decided to flip the dial on his career, rabid fans of the O and A show have launched an online petition demanding that Anthony be re-instated on the show. Nearly 4,000 supporters, many whom are threatening to cancel their subscription, backed Cumia after he was axed for the Twitter tirade, which was deemed as "hate-filled" by his former employer. In the petition, it was stated, "A member of your staff should not lose their job for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. You should be ashamed of your actions."

      The $3-million-a-year co-host launched his Twitter offensive early Wednesday after asserting that he was punched in the face by a black woman in Times Square while he was trying to take a picture of the touristy NYC hot spot. Anthony ripped into the woman calling her a "c**t" and a "savage" and expressed his desire for someone to shoot her. He also Tweeted, "It's really open season on white people in this day and age. No recourse. Fight back and you're a racist." The tweets were deleted this weekend after his firing was announced. 

     Here's what I  have to say about this situation after being in radio for 13 years: Anthony, you're a public figure, bro! Though, I might agree with the way you felt at the moment because you got clocked by a black woman for no reason at all, but taking it to Twitter was not a smart move because you have so many people watching you. You might not have been an A-list celebrity, but you're a celebrity nonetheless and one of my radio heroes. Yes, I do agree that your First Amendment rights were taken from you, but come on! When you're in the public eye, you really need to watch what you say on sites like Twitter and Facebook. On the bright side, you might be better off out of corporate America and doing your own thing and being your own boss. Your followers will follow you to your podcast, so you're off to a pretty good head start. As for that black woman, you're right! Something bad should happen to her. She can't just go around punching people because they take pictures in Times Square! It's Times Square! That's what tourists do!

SAD DAY IN COMEDY.....PATRICE O'NEAL DIES AT 41

Yesterday afternoon, while I was shopping at Lowes, I received a text from a friend informing me that comedian Patrice O'Neal had passed away. WHAT? But he was so young! I was in shock! My friend told me that he'd heard it on the "Opie and Anthony" radio show on Sirius XM Satellite radio. Not that I didn't believe my friend, but I needed confirmation, so I quickly text a friend who handles the publicity at Carolines on Broadway, and I also hit up my friend and "That Metal Show" co-host, comedian Don Jamieson. Don replied with a single word, "Yes," which told me that he might've been broken up about it or he just didn't want to talk about it, but that was confirmation enough for me. My friend from Carolines on Broadway never answered, which was weird because all of my meetings with Patrice took place at the premiere comedy club.

For those who don't know Patrice, he was brilliant comedian who brought many fans to tears with laughter as he would joke about his weight and race. He's even appeared in movies like "Scary Movie 4" and "Furry Vengeance", and TV shows like "The Office" and "Arrested Development". His last TV appearance was as a roaster on the Charlie Sheen Roast. Well, Patrice, who was suffering from diabetes, had a stroke back in October, and a little bit more than a month later, the funnyman died.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Patrice suffered from diabetes for much of his adult life. He lived in Jersey City, NJ and was a longtime fixture on the New York and Los Angeles comedy scenes. Patrice is survived by his wife, Vondecarlo, stepdaughter, Aymilyon, and his sister, Ziner.

Normally, I could care less about a celebrity death, but like I said earlier, I actually got to hang out with Patrice a few times down at Carolines On Broadway, and he really was a gentle giant, and a hilarious one at that. I remember, my friend, Greg from Carolines, and I were headed to a WWE event at Madison Square Garden and Patrice was sitting at the bar at Carolines and we talked for a little while before we headed to the event. I told Patrice that I was interested in writing for the WWE, and he told me that he was a writer for them on two different occasions. He told me that I wouldn't like it because the McMahon family was a little too controlling and that he didn't have the freedom to write whatever he wanted. Another time, I remembered hanging out at Carolines for drinks, and it was a night Patrice was actually hosting, so after he did a 15-minute routine, he came out by the bar to hang out with us, and a white couple, from like Iowa or something, came out and asked for their money back because they were offended by Patrice's racist remarks. Patrice actually said to them, "What did you guys expect to hear when you came to a comedy club, and the club was filled with black people? Jokes about black people?" At that point, the couple just left while we just sat their and laughed!

Patrice was a very funny guy, and I am happy to have, at least, known him for a little while. I only wished that I had the chance to see him again before he passed away. His moments on the "Opie and Anthony Show" were priceless and like Opie tweeted on his Twitter account, "Patrice was the funniest and best thinker I've ever known PERIOD!" And with that we say, good-bye, Patrice O'Neal, Rest In Peace.