Monday, August 07, 2006

Radio Personality Star Plans TV/Book Comeback

During a weekend interview with New York's Daily News, former Clear Channel shock jock Star said those he offended with his comments need to "get over it," and that he will continue to push forward with his career, looking to get on TV and into the book business.
After being terminated from his Clear Channel morning show gig at New York's Power 105.1 for making comments that created a public outcry in the city,
radio personality Star, who was born Troy Torain is hoping to make the jump to the small screen.
"I'm trying to go mainstream. I don't have to be rough, rugged and raw," Star told the Daily News yesterday. "I'm trying to get on TV. I'm trying to do what Don Imus does."
In May Star was fired for telling listeners that he wanted to urinate on the daughter of a rival, HOT 97's DJ Envy (Rashawn Casey), offering a cash reward to anyone who could help him locate the child. He also made racial comments about Casey's part-Asian wife.
Star was later arrested and charged with child endangerment,
but those charges were dropped last month in exchange for 72 hours of community service and six months probation.
Star was unrepentant about his remarks during his Daily News interview, saying: "I didn't just one day decide to go after someone's Asian kid. I've made jokes about Italians, blacks, Jews. That's what I do. I sit and tell racial jokes. If we're at a point where we can't make ethnic jokes, then game over. If we can't joke about ourselves and each other, then it's a new day, and my day is gone."
Last week, the former morning show host filed a $55 million defamation lawsuit against Queens Councilman John Liu, who called Star a pedophile during a press conference discussing the incident with the Casey's.
"I'm not a pedophile. So he's going to have to slow it down," Star told the Daily News."He's too much of a cowboy right now. He's trying to interfere with my business."
Liu responded to the Daily News saying, "It's just funny how Torain claims freedom of speech, and yet when other people exercise their freedom of speech criticizing him, the skin gets very thin."
Star has said if he returns to radio it will be at a rock station. Due to a six-month non-compete clause with Clear Channel, he's currently unable to work in radio. In addition to his TV aspirations he's planning to self-publish a 300-page book titled Objective Hate.
"I'm looking to move forward," he told the Daily News. "I would like people to know there's more to Star than being on a rap radio station."