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Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
ESPN drops Hank Williams, Jr.; Hank claims he quit with 'all his rowdy friends'
by Doug Farrar / Shutdown Corner-Yahoo! Sports
After originally pulling the "Monday Night Football" theme by country singer Hank Williams from last Monday's telecast due to some politically incendiary comments, ESPN has decided to end its relationship with Williams for good. The statement was released Thursday morning:
"We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue."
Williams has his own statement about the breakup — or, at least, it's a statement on his own website:
"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run." -- Hank Williams Jr
Interesting point in that statement -- when Williams refers to "his song," does that mean that ESPN no longer has the right to use the "Are you ready for some footbaaaaaaaaall?" theme without Williams singing it? Who owns that sucker? Where does the publishing revert? Could ESPN put itself in a position to have to pay Williams for the right to have others sing the song he wrote, or is it time to scrap it and start over?
The fracas started when Williams made comments about President Barack Obama during a Monday appearance on the Fox News show, "Fox & Friends." Without any prompting, Williams said that Obama's golf outing with House Speaker John Boehner would be "like Hitler playing golf with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.''
Williams then clarified his comments by saying, ''They're the enemy,'' and that by ''they,'' he meant Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Williams FURTHER clarified his comments on his website on Tuesday:
''The thought of the leaders of both parties jukin and high fiven on a golf course, while so many families are struggling to get by simply made me boil over and make a dumb statement. I am very sorry if it offended anyone.''
On Monday, ESPN pulled the theme song, which has been associated with "Monday Night Football" since 1989. It was unknown at that time whether Williams' theme and likeness would be used again, but it's now a clean break — the Worldwide Leader has decided to move on.
Or, depending on who you believe, Hank jumped before he was pushed, taking his rowdy friends with him.
Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
He's no longer on ESPN.
Now, pathetically, he's claiming he quit. Must be that giant ego is pretty fragile.
He sites freedom of speech as to why he "quit." You can make fun of someones dead child at your job. It's protected under the first amendment. But it still makes you a piece of shit. And you'll still be fired for it.
I totally agree. He shot hisself in the foot with that "First Amendment" comment.
Hank, this isn't you out on the street being arrested by the local police for calling Obama - 'Hitler'.
This is a company (Disney/ABC) saying, "this person's views doesn't reflect OUR company or someone WE want to be associated with".
So you can go make those comments, you're just not gonna be employed by them.
ALOT of people (especially these celebrities, because they're usually poorly educated) don't really grasp this concept (Charlie Sheen), because no one has ever stood up to them and basically said "NO!" to them and popped them on the mouth like a child.
I didn't like the guy's comments, but felt he was entitled to say them, no matter how stupid he sounded while doing it. But ESPN has full right to fire him. Now he's turning around and re-affirming that his apology didn't mean anything and he quit because ESPN stomped on his First Amendment rights.... what a fuckin' laugh.
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Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
He isn't a "bad dude".. When the tornadoes hit Alabama and thousands of people lost their homes, he was one of the first giving his time and money and organized a huge concert to raise millions of dollars of relief when nobody else in the country really gave two shits cause it wasn't "new orleans" or "japan" or "haiti". And do you know else was there? Who the first Hollywood star was that came to Alabama? Charlie fuckin Sheen. So even though they may do bad stuff and say things they shouldn't, they do have a heart, and in this case, they cared when not many outsiders did.
Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
I think he just made a bad analogy... the whole "Cats n Dogs' thing but just did it in a stupid way. saying how Obama playing Golf with this guy would be like Hitler and a Jew hanging etc... he didn't actually call Obama Hitler
What is most funny is... One of his most popular songs is called "If the South Would've Won, We'd Have it Made" hahaha but yet ESPN somehow didn't know that for 20 plus years
Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
^^
Exactly. And many years ago Williams had also made comments that were sympathetic to the KKK.
This is far from the most offensive thing he's done.
But like SG said, he did do the Alabama thing when no one else was there. He also (if I remember correctly) did other philanthropic work for Tenneesee when the torrential floods hit, when all the other Hollywood stars were too busy helping foreigners who aren't even apart of their country, because apparently that means more to liberals.
I did not know that about Charlie Sheen tho. Wow.
Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
He isn't a "bad dude".. When the tornadoes hit Alabama and thousands of people lost their homes, he was one of the first giving his time and money and organized a huge concert to raise millions of dollars of relief when nobody else in the country really gave two shits cause it wasn't "new orleans" or "japan" or "haiti". And do you know else was there? Who the first Hollywood star was that came to Alabama? Charlie fuckin Sheen. So even though they may do bad stuff and say things they shouldn't, they do have a heart, and in this case, they cared when not many outsiders did.
I don't think he's inherently a bad person. I just think he's a dumb redneck and because of that he'll often act like...a dumb redneck.
Re: Hank Williams Jr. Compares Obama to Hitler
Modern journalists are a testament that good grades, intelligence and proper grammar are not mutually exclusive. Nobody is comparing anybody to Hitler in those quotes.
If they were though the analogy wouldn't be as far off as you might think. Obamajugend has been proposed. He's best buddies with the banksters. He has embraced Bush' executive powers and even pushed through some new ones. When he's not fear mongering at home he's war mongering abroad. The troops from Iraq were shipped to Afghanistan and now he's bombing in Libya, Jemen and a few others I can't recall. Direct murder is ordered on enemies. He sits on a debt that can only be resolved through a WWII scale conflict (quote Nobel price winner in economics). Cooperation among nations is not a choice he says.