iTrashTV.com - ET. -Gossip, Entertainment News & Videos: "Imus in the Morning" Has All Day To Think Now

MSNBC-TV announced Wednesday that it will no longer simulcast “Imus in the Morning.” The radio talk show host has been flooded with criticism for his racial slur last week.

While on his show, he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team “nappy-haired hos.” A swarm of angry voices is asking for Imus to be dismissed or to resign, including the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

CBS Radio and MSNBC announced that they would suspend Imus for two weeks. Now it looks like the suspension might last, forever. In a statement, NBC News said the decision, effective immediately, resulted from an “ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension.”

The statement further said: “What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible.”

The statement apologized to the Rutgers women's basketball team and to MSNBC viewers. “We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused,” it said.

“Imus in the Morning” has also lost some of its advertising. Office-supply chain Staples and Miralus Healthcare, a pharmaceutical firm that makes a HeadOn headache medication, said Tuesday they asked MSNBC to remove advertising from the television simulcast of Imus' radio program and run their commercials elsewhere, The New York Times said Wednesday.

Other advertisers are even more upset. Procter & Gamble has announced it would withdraw all advertising from MSNBC's daytime schedule. “We have to think first about our consumers,” said Jeannie Tharrington, a P&G spokeswoman, “so anyplace where our advertising appears that is offensive to our consumers is not acceptable to us.”

During a televised news conference yesterday, the members of the Rutgers women’s basketball team expressed their own opinions and feelings on the whole situation, giving new depth to the issue.

“It kind of scars us. We grew up in a world where racism exists, and there's nothing we can do to change that,” said Matee Ajavon, a junior guard. “I think that this has scarred me for life.”

The women have agreed though to meet with Imus privately next week and hear his explanation. They held back from saying whether they'd accept Imus' apologies or passing judgment on whether a two-week suspension imposed by CBS Radio and MSNBC was sufficient.

Bruce Gordon, a CBS director and former president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, said Wednesday that Imus should be fired for his racial slur. “As an African-American, I believe that Imus has crossed the line, a very bright line that divides our country. His remarks are so significant that I believe that the right outcome is for him to be terminated.”

The Rev, Sharpton has been very clear what his stand on the situation is. When Imus was on his radio show this Monday to apologize, Sharpton said: “I'm going to say what you said was racist and you should be fired. It's not about whether you're a good man; this is about setting a precedent that allows racist language to be used in mainstream, federally regulated television and radio.”