22 October, 2008

Virgin Radio Dubai RJ fired

Arabian Business reports:
"Virgin Radio DJ Revin John has been fired from his Dubai breakfast radio show, after he outraged listeners by reading an offensive article on-air, it has emerged."
Click here to read full article

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good riddance... he deserved to be fired a long time back. Only people with no taste and class listened to hi pathetic show... imagine playing Gold digger at 6AM, even hardcore rap bada bling music that early. He once also read an article on air about nose picking and such.

Lets hope his place is taken by someone with some talent...we've no need for DJs like Catboy and jordy fucking bird (who spout gibberish gobbledygook like Mickey O'Neil from Snatch (Pitt)

Anonymous said...

Good riddance... he deserved to be fired a long time back. Only people with no taste and class listened to hi pathetic show... imagine playing Gold digger at 6AM, even hardcore rap bada bling music that early. He once also read an article on air about nose picking and such.

Lets hope his place is taken by someone with some talent...we've no need for DJs like Catboy and jordy fucking bird (who spout gibberish gobbledygook like Mickey O'Neil from Snatch (Pitt)

Em said...

what was the 'offensive' article about?

Veiled Muslimah said...

I was going to ask the same question. Anyone know? I'm curious.

Anonymous said...

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jVE_eVFFuqvpYfKVfW2I34bW7pYwD93VNRFO0

hemlock said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hemlock said...

daymn! i used to think he was funny...
and i'd be interested in knowing what he got fired over!

Dubai Jazz said...

I dont know about the article. But I gotta agree with the first comment: the level of platitude and corniness on the morning Radio is appaling. Jordy Bird has got the ugliest squealing sound ever.

Anonymous said...

More details

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081022/NATIONAL/498068405/1010

Anonymous said...

All the crap DJs are heading to Dubai, apparently. Maybe because they were fired in their home countries over ignoring ethics that radio DJs are supposed to abide by.

GB isn't even a real radio DJ. she's just married to Catboy, that's the only reason they allowed her on the air. she used to be a real estate agent. At least Dubai have enough sense not to let her host the show on her own when Catboy's off somewhere.

CG said...

At the end of the day, Catboy and his Mrs sell well, they appeal to the kids, but at any other time of the day they would be a big flop.

samuraisam said...

Wow.

Great to see dubai has a sense of humor.

They should just switch all the radio stations to playing static 24/7 so no one has a remote possibility of being offended.

Anonymous said...

although i'm not a die hard revin john fan, i listened to him a lot as virgin is the only station that seems to play more music than adverts. working in media in the middle east comes with a lot of don'ts. rj's have a public responsibility and should stay quiet when in doubt. having said that, revin probably made an honest mistake and meant no malice and if that's the case, he should have been given the chance to aplogise publicly. firing him was a bit too harsh.

Anonymous said...

Sam: or the Qu'ran for 24 hours.

But then we might think that someone important has died and we're about to get 3 days off for mourning.

And then we'd get offended when we learn that it isn't true.

Dubai Jazz said...

Sam, here's the 'sense of humor' that doesn't go down very well with lots of people:

A radio host has been sacked in Dubai after he angered listeners by impersonating God in a comedy skit about a phone call with the Almighty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7685254.stm

hemlock said...

now THAT's NUTS!!! that's not offensive! morgan freeman playing god was offensive... i personally wouldve preferred christopher lee / ian mcKellen... but the RJ being fired for doing a god impersonation... that's so wrong. :/

Mr DtP said...

Hell, these upstanding folk and all their hip and hapening culture would be most welcome in Al Ain to liven up the moribund radio here...

...or perhaps not.

Em said...

i suppose i can understand it pissing off people, but i don't find it offensive. there are so many movies about playing God or representing God. it's meant to be taken as a joke, especially since the article he was spoofing was ridiculous : some nut was wanting to sue God and the courts dismissed for 'lack of a sending address'.

Anonymous said...

Culture clash!

samuraisam said...

dubaijazz:
That article doesn't have most details in it, check out this IHT one

I just find it interesting that people aren't offended by the gangsta-rap / whatever other crap is played on the radio here but choose to single in on a 10 second skit.

Of course the usual problem when it comes to something like this was the notorious 'facebook group' formed by the same demographic as every other facebook group of this calibre that I've seen.

Good thing to keep in mind is that this is a radio station owned by the same company that operates MTV arabia (which stopped broadcasting music videos during ramadan).

Anyway, perhaps people could devote their time to better things like why there are giant holes in the road in Ajman that cars tyres to be popped (that's the reason comment moderation took a while today)

Anonymous said...

Emirati women apparently are leading the protest against this RJ/DJ whatever J (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/535797-dj-deservesd-to-lose-job-says-protest-leader).

You people need to get a life. I don't listen to the radio and I listen to gangsta rap in the morning. Yup, samuarism, I do. It gets me in the mood to go make some money :)

As usual, Muslims are proving themselves to be a bunch of angry people just waiting for something or ANYTHING to attack.

Take up stamp collecting. Jeez.

Anonymous said...

As a Muslim, what I find surprising is people starting Facebook protest Groups against the DJ, but ignoring similar offences to Islamic principles such as open prostitution , simply because the latter involves money....
Does Islam teach us to ignore wrongdoings if they are economically profitable ?

Anonymous said...

What did we say about people objecting what the owners of the country say? Remember, u have no say, either take it or leave it.

Proud Emirati said...

I actually thought that it was harsh to fire him since it wasn't his intention to offend the Muslims, advising him would be enough; however; after reading dubai entrepreneur I would say, kudos to firing him, he should get deported too.

Anonymous said...

I think it was unfair to fire Revin just like that. He should have been given a chance to apologise. I actually enjoy listening to his show (aside from the rap, thats when i switch channels)
There are plenty of movies where people impersonate God. I frankly think that is worse.
I dont see why people form an angry mob over this, claiming it 'offends' Islam. I, being a muslim, know that drinking, prostitution and alot of other vices found here are illegal, but do u see anyone objecting to THAT? Apparently not!
But over a brief part of a radio show, everyone's on a protest against him! It could have been a genuine mistake, he didnt mean to offend anyone.
Wheres the logic in firing him overnight over something like this?
These hypocrite rules still confuse me to be honest!

Anonymous said...

You want to base your opinion on my take on the Muslim Mob Mentality (TM) ? Give me a break!

After all, the 'proud' emirati's can't do anything about the hookers in their country.. so they pick on the smaller guys.. like the DJ/RJ.

Grow some balls and deal with the real issues in this country. Impersonating god for a few seconds on a radio show is the least of your concerns.

Every time I think I have seen the ultimate idiocy, I am reminded that stupidity is a bottomless pit.

Proud Emirati said...

It is actually ur small brain that cannot see the difference.

Anonymous said...

sure.. facilitating for tourists to come and get an std courtesy of an imported hooker is all good.. making a joke on the radio is not.

MY small brain? Heheh.. at least I'm not importing balls too. Grow some or get some. Until then, you're nothing but a spineless people.

Proud Emirati said...
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Proud Emirati said...

It is u who cannot overcome the fact that u are living in a different system and that ur imperialistic views holds no weight in this country, once u realize that ur life here will be much easier !

Anonymous said...

luv how holier than thou expats are saying "it was just a joke" while at the same time back home.... there are calls to fire Russell Brand for his joke :-)....
maybe all the smug expats ought to head back home and teach their public a thing or two about handling jokes.... no wait... too late coz Russell Brand just left the BBC :)

Anonymous said...

oh god....(shit, am I allowed to say "oh god" or am I being offensive)

Here we go again...ok here's the deal:

1. I saw so many posts confirming that firing Revin was a good thing out of which almost all of them were by muslims thinking that he offended them (except this one guy who said that his music playing sucked - I haven't quite confirmed his religion). I don't see anyone else (including Christians) complaining!

2. Some posts said that expats have to get used to the laws of the country and that they have no power in a country that's not their own - what the hell are you talking about??? Laws against a flimsy 10 second God impersonation?? And mind you - he said GOD not Allah, Jesus or Krishna...so where the hell do muslims get offended from?? If you wanna talk laws, talk about laws against alcohol, prostitution and even against bloody landlords who hike their rents every year relentlessly (and get away with it)..

Being a resident of Dubai, I think that the muslim community is overreacting to such a miniscule issue...grow up people, look at the world around you. You've got bigger issues on your hands anyways!

Anonymous said...

Just a comment about the dj. Whos his boss? Didn't he check with his boss before doing this stuff on air? Has his boss been fired? He should be for not giving good guidelines for his staff! Taste and decency are important issues here in the UAE us expats, some of us, forget we are guests in this country and suddenly we're amazed when people are thrown in prison and deported for having sex on a beach! Get real, abide by the rules, respect the culture even if you don't agree with it! To be honest all of the radio here is rubbish, no intelegent convrersation, idiots on the radio that shouldn't even own a radio let alone be allowed to talk on air. What is the pathetic Radio 2 Motoring show all about? utter jibberish !! Sack the management that allow these programmes, they are not entertaining or informative just an opportunity to make money and forget about what the listener wants! I listen to 88.8 in Dubai, 24/7 I think it's called, music all the time and no crappy wittering DJ who doesn't have anything sensible or entertaining to say!

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