New Jersey radio station suspends hosts who called state attorney general 'turban man'

WOODLAND PARK, N.J. – A pair of New Jersey talk radio hosts who repeatedly referred to New Jersey's Sikh attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, as "turban man" and "the guy with the turban" on Wednesday were removed from the airwaves "until further notice" after charges of racism and xenophobia.

The station, NJ 101.5 FM, announced the decision to reprimand hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco on its website around midnight. By then the hosts were at the center of a firestorm on social media and the governor had called for the station to take action against the veteran radio personalities.

"We are aware of the offensive comments made by Dennis and Judi during today’s broadcast," the station said. "We have taken immediate action and have taken them off the air until further notice. We are investigating the matter and will have further comment shortly."

Malloy and Franco acknowledged during their afternoon show that their reference to Grewal may be considered offensive. But they dismissed that possibility and suggested it was the fault of Grewal, the country's first Sikh attorney general, that he was being referred to in a way that could be perceived as derogatory.

"Listen, and if that offends you, then don't wear the turban and maybe I'll remember your name," Malloy said.

Neither Malloy nor Franco responded to an email seeking comment Wednesday night.

The hosts had brought up the attorney general because of his order earlier this week to county prosecutors to adjourn all low-level marijuana cases for at least the next month. That decision is being interpreted as a precursor to the state's seemingly inevitable legalization of recreational marijuana under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Murphy appointed Grewal earlier this year to become the state's top law enforcement officer. Before that, Grewal served as Bergen County, New Jersey, prosecutor under Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

The son of Indian immigrants, Grewal, 45, practices the Sikh religion and, as such, wears the turban headdress common in that religion as well as among Muslims and Hindus.

When he was named by Murphy to be the next attorney general, Grewal, whose office did not respond to an email seeking comment, spoke to his three daughters and explained that he wanted to take the job because "as someone who has experienced hate and intolerance firsthand throughout my life, I wanted to work to ensure we all live in and that the three of you grow up in a fair and just society.”

On his personal Twitter account, Grewal responded early Thursday morning with a message directed at the station.

"My name, for the record, is Gurbir Grewal. I’m the 61st Attorney General of NJ. I’m a Sikh American. I have 3 daughters. And yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio," Grewal wrote.

In a minute-long audio clip from their show, Malloy and Franco refer to Grewal as "turban man" or "the guy with the turban" five times in discussing the marijuana decision.

"You know the attorney general — I'm never going to know his name. I'm just going to say 'the guy with the turban,' " Malloy says.

Franco responds, "OK," then adds in a drawn-out voice, "turban man."

Moments later, Malloy asks, "Is that highly offensive?"

Franco responds, "To me? No. To people who wear turbans? Could be."

Malloy agrees, but then explains his justification for using the term. "If you called me 'baseball hat man' and I was in a culture where nobody wore baseball hats and they called me 'baseball hat man,' should I be offended?"

"No. I would say no," Franco responds.

Malloy concurs, then goes on: "Anyway, the attorney general, turban man, says he's not going to prosecute pot things until September."

Murphy, who prides himself on having assembled the most diverse Cabinet in state history, took offense at the hosts' comments.

“I’m outraged by the abhorrent and xenophobic comments made earlier today mocking Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on 'The Dennis & Judi Show' on New Jersey 101.5," Murphy said in a statement. "Hate speech has no place in New Jersey, and it does not belong on our airwaves. Station management must now hold the hosts accountable for these intolerant and racist comments.”

The recording of the radio hosts' comments made the rounds on social media Wednesday night and drew rebukes from the American Civil Liberties Union and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who is also a Sikh and wears a turban.

"Hey "Racist Man" @DennisandJudi : I'm a Jersey guy, born & raised, and so is NewJerseyOAG Grewal - this type of racist garbage has no place in Jersey. Get with the program! #RacistManDennis #jerseypride #educateyourself," Bhalla wrote on Twitter.

The ACLU pushed back against the hosts' reasoning for referring to Grewal the way they did, pointing out that Murphy's full name is "probably less phonetic" than Grewal's.

"Racism isn't cute. It's just racist," the organization wrote on Twitter.

Follow Dustin Racioppi on Twitter: @dracioppi

WFXT