Television and radio personality Carson Daly on Wednesday issued an apology for homophobic jokes he made on his radio broadcast earlier in the day while referencing an recent incident aboard a Jet Blue flight where passengers had to restrain and unstable pilot who suffered a mid-air meltdown.
During a discussion of how the men who restrained the pilot were on their way to a security conference in Las Vegas, Daly insinuated that gay passengers wouldn’t have been able to subdue the crazed pilot whose actions placed passengers in danger, and said, “With my luck, it would be like … this is the flight going to [gay] pride in San Francisco.”
“That would be my colleagues,” said Carson, who then spoke in a higher-pitched gay stereotype voice, saying, “Uh, we’re headed down to Vegas for the floral convention … could we get a little help up here with the pilot?”
“‘Uh, no … no thank you, handle it,'” Daly said would be the response from the gay passengers.
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Following the posting of TMZ’s story, Daly tweeted, “This morning on my radio show I attempted to make fun of myself & offended others by mistake. I sincerely apologize.”
Later in the day, Daly issued this statement to GLAAD:
“We live in a time where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals find courage every day to overcome adversity, stand up to bullying and find equality. I’m truly saddened that my words today suggested otherwise. I’ve long been a supporter of gay, lesbian, and transgender rights, and I’m saddened that my comments, however unintentional, offended anyone, specifically members of the LGBT community.
The fact that I have hurt anyone is devastating. I’m not that guy. I’m proud to be an ally of the LGBT community and will continue to fight with them.”
Alice Hoagland, whose gay son Mark Bingham was one of several passengers who charged United Airlines’ Flight 93’s hijacked cockpit during the September 11, 2001 attacks — is not letting Daly off the hook, however, and called his comments “vicious bigotry.”
Yes, [Mark] was known in our family for bringing me flowers on my birthday and Mother’s Day,” Hoagland wrote in a statement. “He also was known for careening down the rugby pitch, and, on the morning of September 11, 2001, for charging unarmed down the aisle of a doomed Boeing 757.
[…]
“No one among his … team of fellow passengers was asking, ‘Are you straight? Are you gay?’ … The world has its share of strong, heroic gay men. Gay men in sports uniforms and military uniforms have been winning America’s games and fighting America’s battles for a long time: quietly, humbly, and in the face of vicious bigotry.”
