Let’s say that English radio scandals are a bit juicier than ours…and maybe harder for us to understand.
If I have this right, comedian Russell Brand, who hosted this year’s MTV Video Awards, was fired for making a prank call to 78-year-old Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs, saying he (Brand) slept with his (Sachs’) granddaughter.
This was after Sachs missed a scheduled radio interview, and it sounds like something Howard Stern would do.
But, in this case, not only have Brand and partner Jonathan Ross been suspended, but the granddaughter, Georgina Baillie, admitted it was true, and apparently works as a pay-by-the-hour dominatrix.
Check out some of the details here.
Outraged over the scandal, Britons are also finding out that radio execs at the government-funded BBC are making more than $1.5 million each. It took a sex scandal for someone to realize that?
Meanwhile, Ms. Baillie, who is calling for Brand’s firing for breaking a confidence agreement (this is against the law?), is part of a burlesque troupe called the Satanic Sluts (which might be illegal in some U.S. states).
Howard Stern only wishes he was in the middle of a scandal like this here. People would remember him. You can hear his mind working…maybe if I slept with one of the Bush daughters….oh no…I’m married now….
Stern, by the way, used to be one of America’s top shock jocks. He’s now on Sirius Satellite Radio, which charges $15 a month to hear him.
Can anyone tell me if he’s still funny?
Brad Kava was a print news reporter and syndicated media critic for the Mercury News for many years and has also had numerous works published in the New York Times, Kansas City Star and Rolling Stone magazine.
Brad has had front page stories about everything ranging from satellite radio, digital music rights and terrorist bombings to features on well known authors and profiles on technology luminaries and CEOs. He was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for covering the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and has done writing projects for the Los Angeles blues and rock record label, Delta Groove.
He has been a guest on “Nightline”, NPR’s “Morning Edition” and Howard Stern’s radio show, and is a regular media commentator for KCBS Radio, KGO radio and Fox TV affiliate KTVU in Oakland. His published interviews translated around the world have included musicians such as Keith Richards, James Cotton, Paul McCartney, Snoop Dogg, and U2.
Brad has won several awards for his writing, including second place for the Best Bay Area Columnist and Best Feature Story, and honorable mention for the Best Serious Feature Story. He was also part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Loma Preita earthquake.
