Chamillionarie Appears on CNN
The Grammy-award winning artist appeared on the CNN program alongside several other guests including Wendy Williams, Larry Elder and Don Imus' lawyer, Martin Garbus, as they discussed the controversy surrounding Imus' return to radio after being fired.
Imus returned yesterday on WABC New York as he broadcast live from Manhattan's Town Hall.
Among the topics brought up by guest host Joy Behar of "The View" were the newest additions to Imus' on-air team,Karith Foster and Tony Powell, both black comedians, to which Wendy Williams called "pacifiers for the black community."
When asked if she thought the radio personality had turned over a new leaf, Williams said that his diplomatic approach is "a five minute honeymoon phase, then he'll get right back into the Imus that he is."
Chamillionaire, who appeared via satellite from Houston, believed that no significant action had been taken to warrant Imus' return.
"Everybody agrees that Don Imus shouldn't be shot execution style for what he did," said Chamillionaire. "You can say you're sorry but there still has to be some kind of punishment. The problem is there's a real effect of what he did. I've yet to see the real punishment. He wouldn't have been fired if there was nothing wrong. It's changed us. It's changed [me] as a rapper. I definitely don't mind him being back on the air but I just feel there was no real punishment."
Chamillionaire cited the fact that Imus was paid during his hiatus and that his celebrity has since grown significantly since his remarks, showing that the incident has actually aided Imus' career rather than hurting it. He also said that the residual effects from the controversy has "trickled down into hip-hop" and that Imus' audience has grown, expanding to those who would have never heard of him before.
"Every time I do an interview I'm forced to talk about Don Imus to where before I wouldn't have known who he was," he commented. " If there was something I can say right now on CNN, get banned from my recording contract, come back and be larger than life, then tell me what it is and I'll say it right now. We're promoting Don Imus right now by being here. Don Imus is really winning right now. The corporations are winning. But there's a lot of people who are not winning."
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