This is a rush transcript from “Hannity & Colmes,” October 31, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Bounty hunter and television star Duane “Dog” Chapman under fire tonight after allegedly making racially insensitive comments on this tape released by “The National Enquirer.”
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN, “DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER”: I’m not take a chance on some (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I don’t care if she’s a Mexican, a (EXPLETIVE DELETED), whatever. It’s not because she’s black. It’s because we use the word (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sometimes here. I’m not going to take a chance ever in life of losing everything I’ve worked for, for 30 years, because some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) heard us say (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and turned us into “Enquirer” magazine. Our career is over. If Lyssa was to date a (EXPLETIVE DELETED), we would all say (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you. And you know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLMES: Chapman has apologized for his comments, but the cable network A&E has suspended production of his show pending an investigation. Is this another situation like the Imus situation or is it totally different?
Joining us now, Reverend Tim Storey, a longtime friend and spiritual adviser of the Dog’s, and the director of the Decency Initiative at the National Action Network, Tamika Mallory.
We welcome you both.
Let me begin with you, Tim. You’ve talked to Dog about this. What is he telling you?
REV. TIM STOREY, DOG’S SPIRITUAL ADVISER: Well, I talked to him probably about seven minutes before I came here. And he’s in the same place he was. He’s sorry. He’s wrong. He’s wrong-wrong. He knows he’s wrong.
COLMES: Why did he do it? Why does he use this kind of language?
STOREY: Well, you know, the amazing thing, when I first heard the tape, I thought, “It can’t be real, because I don’t know that side of Duane.” I’ve known him for seven years. I’m a black man. I’m his minister. I never saw racism in him. So when I heard it, I was shocked, and I was offended. So I challenged him, as a black man and as a minister, on why he did this. So just know, I was shocked at first, as well.
COLMES: How much time do you spend around him? How much time have you been with him over the years? And how much exposure have you had to the way he really speaks?
STOREY: I’m with him quite a bit. You know, I talk to him once a week, and we chat. He’s been on the road with me, speaking at different events, inner-city events. I never saw this side of him. But I will say, I do not think that this is who the man is. I believe that he shot his big mouth. He’s wrong. He’s double wrong. It’s offended and hurt a lot of people.
COLMES: Now, here’s what I don’t get. Before we get to Tamika here, he says he’s not speaking out because of the woman being African-American, but because the people in his entourage use bad language and he doesn’t want to be caught using that language, acknowledging that that’s the way he speaks.
STOREY: I challenged him on that. He said, you know, Tim, I’ve been raised in the prison system. I’ve been around people who say that word. I’ve even been with him with people who come up, where hip-hop guys would come up or inner-city guys and say that. But I said, “Dog, it’s — it’s still wrong. You can’t use the n-word in private, public,” and he’s getting that. He is remorseful. And he’s wrong.
COLMES: Alright. Tamika, what I don’t understand is he says, “I use this word. My people use this word. I don’t want to be around someone who’s going to call me on it.” And yet his minister here says, “I’ve never heard him the word.” What do you make of it?
TAMIKA MALLORY, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: Well, I mean, obviously, he uses the word. He says he uses the word, and that is one of the reasons why he claims he doesn’t want this woman to be around. So he does use the word. But the bottom line, the Decency Initiative and the National Action Network are against the use of the n-word, period, no matter who says it, why they say it, or what they mean when they use it.
COLMES: Well, even when African-Americans use it, you don’t support that African-Americans should ever use that word.
MALLORY: That’s right.
COLMES: And some people will give blacks a pass because using that language in a totally different context, but you don’t agree with that either?
MALLORY: No, we don’t. And, in fact, we have taken a position against the use of the word and against entertainers who use the word, and so, no, we are totally against the use of the word.
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: Hey, Reverend, it’s Sean Hannity. Thank you for being with us. Appreciate your time tonight.
I want to get into this in a little more specifically. I saw a quote that you had where you said you don’t think he is a racist. Now, you’ve heard the comments; you’ve spent some time with him; you’ve talked to him. He’s apologized profusely. Why did you come to that conclusion?
STOREY: Because I really have been around him. I’ve seen his temper. I’ve seen him blow up. I’ve seen the things he’s done, but I’ve also seen, after he’s arrested somebody of all races, talking to them in the back of the car trying to change their lives.
He’s got a black minister. If he’s a racist, why does he have a black minister? This was seven years ago. He could have anybody do his wedding. he could have had Robert Schuller do his wedding. He had a black minister perform his wedding.
HANNITY: But you also are quoted as saying that he is somebody that you have been to inner-city neighborhoods with on a fairly regular basis, because he wanted to reach out and help inner-city kids, is that true?
STOREY: That’s true. That’s true. We were in San Diego and in Los Angeles. We’re about to do it in Florida. This is something he has not been paid for. He wanted to do it because he wanted to change lives. This is a case of a man shooting his big mouth and making a very bad decision here.
HANNITY: Because everyone — there’s nobody who would defend the use of this word. It’s morally reprehensible, deplorable, and he even said in his statement here, “I did not mean to add yet another slap,” he said, “to an entire race of people who have brought so many gifts to this world.” And he went into even more detail here.
Do you think this is a case of — is this somebody throwing around the f-word, the b-word, the a-, b-, c-, d-, e-, f-word? I mean, is this somebody that just uses vernacular as a curse word, or is there some real racial antipathy here because his son was dating a woman of another race?
STOREY: This is a guy saying a lot of words he should not say. I’ve been on him for a year, because when I put him in churches, he’ll say, “How could this guy lead a prayer, and then say M-F, blanky, blank, blank.” I’ve been saying to him, Duane, for a year, “You’ve got to stop talking this way.” And, really, I think it’s a guy just shooting words everywhere. He’s wrong. He knows it. We’re going to work on it. Today is a new day, but he’s still hurt a lot of people, but he wants to change.
HANNITY: All right, let me ask, Tamika, if I can, to ask you one question here, because I read his statement in its entirety, and I assume by now that you probably have, as well. And he said, “My sincerest, my heartfelt apologies go out to every person that I have offended with my regrettable use of inappropriate language. I am disappointed in myself for speaking this way out of anger to my son in a private phone conversation here.” And he said he wants the opportunity to go out and make things right again.
Is this an opportunity for the National Action Network and Al Sharpton to go out there and help somebody that immediately is seeking redemption and forgiveness to help him achieve that goal?
MALLORY: No, we’re not trying to help him at all. It’s up to his — the network that owns his show to decide whether or not what he has done violates their standards and policies. It’s not up to us to help him. I mean, he’s called. He’s reached out to us, and so have many other people, but, you know…
HANNITY: And a lot of people use it. I’ve — it’s an offensive bit of language. He is recognizing it. We see it in rap music. We see offensive language a lot on the streets, and I think we’ve got to reevaluate the coarsening of our culture this way. But I wanted to know if Reverend Sharpton would support some forgiveness in this.
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