VivirLatino

Would you vote for a candidate who used the gay slur, the “f” word? It certainly didn’t help the career of Grey’s Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington. What if the slur were in a different language, say Spanish? Well Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson used the word maricón in an exchange over a year ago with shock jock (and racist) Don Imus and now Richardson is scrambling to apologize.

The New Mexico governor used the term as part of a joke instigated by talk show host Don Imus during a March 29, 2006, segment of his “Imus in the Morning” syndicated radio program, simulcast on MSNBC. “Bernard on the staff here has been claiming you’re not really Hispanic so– that you’re just claiming that for some sort of advantage or something,” Imus said to Richardson, tongue clearly in cheek. “You can just answer this yes or no and this will answer that question. Would you agree that Bernard is a maricón?”
Without missing a beat, Richardson replied in Spanish, “Yo creo que Bernardo, sí — es un maricón si él piensa que yo no soy hispano. [General laughter] Was that good enough or what? [General laughter]”
“That’s good enough for me,” Imus replied.

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