Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, who jointly host the popular "Dennis and Judi Show" aired on 101.5 FM in New Jersey have been pulled from the airwaves until August 6th for repeatedly calling the state’s Attorney General Gurbir Singh Grewal a "turban man" throughout the segment.
The DJs who have been hosting the show for the last 21 years made the comments while discussing Mr Grewal’s recent decision to suspend marijuana prosecutions in the state.
In one of their usual banters, Mr Malloy couldn't recall the attorney general’s name, so he told his co-host Franco that "I'm just going to say the guy with the turban."
The duo then went on to suggest that Mr Grewal must stop wearing a turban if he wants his name to be remembered.
Mr Grewal is the nation’s first Sikh state attorney general who assumed office in New Jersey in January 2018.
Addressing the controversy on Twitter, the prosecutor said he has been repeatedly made the target of such “small indignities and humiliations” irrespective of his position. He further wrote that “it’s time to end “small-minded intolerance”.
As a result, the hosts issued a statement acknowledging that their comments were “insensitive” and offered a written apology for their remarks during the “unscripted and free-form” show.
The network’s president Ron deCastro also followed it up with a video message resonating with their apology.
Meanwhile, the comments triggered a firestorm on social media, leading to an onslaught of fierce reactions from various members and representatives of the Sikh community denouncing the statements made during the show.
Grewal’s position is the second notable accomplishment of Sikhs in New Jersey, and in United States.
Previously, Ravinder Bhalla was elected mayor of Hoboken becoming the first Sikh to hold that office in New Jersey.
