Fallout Swift After New Jersey DJs Call Attorney General 'Turban Man'

NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal

On Wednesday night, after leaving an event I'd hosted for WNYC, I turned on my phone and saw a number of messages conveying the same news: Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, two New Jersey DJ's, were suspended from 101.5 FM shortly after calling the state's attorney general Gurbir Grewal "Turban Man" earlier in the day.

101.5 FM announced on Thursday that the pair's suspension would last 10 days, with a return date of August 6.

When I finally managed to hear the segment, one of the first things that came to mind was an old prank call, also made at the expense of South Asian immigrants. It’s called “You Kicked My Dog” and made the rounds in the 1990s.

In it, the caller (generally credited as Travis Hopkins) phones a Punjabi household in Canada and puts on a thick Indian accent. Calling himself Kerpal, he angrily says he saw the family’s teenage daughter kick his dog and demands money for the dog’s surgery. At one point, you can hear the bewildered father put the phone down and ask his daughter in Punjabi if this claim is true, but then the girl takes the phone herself and starts grilling the caller, making it clear that she knows this is a prank call.

And then, suddenly, Hopkins’ jokey vibe disappears.

“I’m going to kill you,” he said.
“You’re going to kill us?” she asks in disbelief.
“No, I’m just kidding!”

People who circulated and loved “You Kicked My Dog” back then likely ignored the death threat, just as defenders of Malloy and Franco insist the DJs were just fooling around and that the attorney general had to lighten up.

The reality of the radio exchange is that it was laced with seriousness and a message that Sikhs needed to conform. “I’m never going to know his name, I’m just gonna say ‘the guy with the turban.’” said Malloy, referring to Grewal, adding, “Don’t wear the turban and maybe I’ll remember your name.”

Hours later, Malloy and Franco were suspended.

“I think this has gained traction because of the layers involved,” said Amol Sinha, who heads the state chapter of the ACLU and runs the South Asian Bar Association of New York.

“New Jersey has one of the largest proportions of South Asians in the country, including thousands who wear turbans, and we hold positions of power in government service, public interest, and business, yet we’re still seen as other. The version of New Jersey and America adopted by the radio hosts—and likely many others—is a whitewashed one. In their version, any person of color or religious minority who achieves power must be an anomaly and those who have an immigrant background can’t truly be American.”

Governor Phil Murphy appointed Grewal and called the radio segment “disgusting” and “wholly unacceptable.”

“There are many who would like to portray this as some data point on a spectrum of political correctness,” he said during a phone interview. “That’s not what this is at all. This is right versus wrong.”

Khyati Joshi, a professor of education at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said that in previous years the kind of humor Malloy and Franco trade in may not have been recognized as problematic, “so the fact that the hosts were quickly suspended is positive.”

“But it’s all also a reminder that bias is still rampant, and slurs targeting religious minorities are still ‘ok’ in certain circles.”

As it happens, the event I was hosting as the news broke, "Beyond Outrage," was a really thoughtful discussion about how art, wit and whimsy can restore humanity, and just get us through another day. The room was filled with people of diverse backgrounds, all trying to figure out how to counteract hate and violence, both individually and as a collective.

As for Grewal, he has decided to rise above the slur:

The announcement of Malloy and Franco’s August 6 reinstatement was accompanied by an apology.

“We use humor and sarcasm to make a point and add color to the broadcast; in this instance, we were off the mark,” read their statement. “It was a mistake we both deeply regret. We respect all cultures and beliefs and are deeply sorry for the pain caused to the Sikh community, our co-workers and our beloved listeners."

Arun Venugopal is a reporter who focuses on issues of race and immigration. You can follow him on Twitter at @arunNYC