Videos called racist, sexist

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This article was published 12/04/2016 (3082 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A popular radio DJ in Winnipeg has been suspended for producing a pair of videos on YouTube considered by many to be racist and sexist.

Dave Wheeler of 92 CITI FM was suspended, a station official said, although the length of the punishment wasn’t disclosed.

An apology, written by Wheeler and read aloud Tuesday morning by another on-air personality, Rena, acknowledges the videos Transcona Girls and North End Boy were inappropriate.

‘I want to apologize to our loyal viewers, listeners and the city of the Winnipeg for the two videos… They were insensitive and went too far’– written apology by Dave Wheeler and read on-air Tuesday

“I want to apologize to our loyal viewers, listeners and the city of the Winnipeg for the two videos that were posted on our site (Monday). They were insensitive and went too far. We love this city, we live and work here like all of you, I never meant to offend the great people of Winnipeg; for that I am truly sorry,” the statement read.

“Every day, we try to entertain our audiences but sometimes it can go too far, and that’s what happened (Monday). There comes a point where something intended as a joke just isn’t funny.

Transcona Girls, to the tune of California Girls by the Beach Boys, includes the lyrics, “North End daughters really like to stab and steal your bike, and the Wolseley girls with their hairy pits, they keep their girlfriends warm at night.”

North End Boy, a spoof of Thank God I’m a Country Boy by John Denver, has more offensive lyrics: “Well there’s holes in the wall and blood stained red, I try to fall asleep but I got no bed, I go outside try not to end up dead, thank God I’m a North End boy.”

On Monday night, the station was compelled by online backlash to remove the videos from social media posted by the show Wheeler in the Morning.

Members of the city’s indigenous community called for Wheeler’s employment termination, and several dozen people protested Tuesday afternoon outside the radio station at 166 Osborne St.

Wheeler’s apology was echoed in a written statement Tuesday afternoon by Craig Pfeifer, program director at CITI FM.

“Dave Wheeler has been suspended until we have completed a thorough review of the situation.

“Yesterday’s videos should never have been broadcast, and we have already launched an investigation as to how this content made it onto our airwaves. We have strict policies in place for all editorial content and we adhere to the codes enforced by the CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council). We are reviewing protocol with our editorial team to ensure these policies are upheld to the highest standard.”

Last year, Wheeler asserted Winnipeg isn’t a racist city during an interview with Maclean’s writer Nancy MacDonald, who wrote the article Welcome to Winnipeg: Where Canada’s racism problem is at its worst. “When you talk about race and people damaging their own race, to me, that’s not racism,” he said during that interview.