Tavis Quits!

Monday, April 14, 2008


Tavis Smiley has quit the Tom Joyner Morning Show, in what is believed to be anger/hurt over people's reaction to Smiley's anti-Obama sentiment. And now in an open letter, Tom Joyner has asked viewers to write in and let Tavis know that he is valued. Tom writes:
  • "We all know that isn’t the real reason he’s leaving the show. The real reason is that he can’t take the hate he’s been getting regarding the Barack issue — hate from the black people that he loves so much. He needed to feel the love. We all do, whether it’s from our radio audience or from people we know personally. He wasn’t feeling any love, so he quit....We need good, controversial, compelling radio, and Tavis brought that"
  • "But because Tavis has not come out and said, 'I am for Barack Obama,' everybody has started hating on him and threatening him and clowning him, and he can’t take it. Those of us who know him well know that. If you read his autobiography, 'What I Know for Sure,' you know that no matter how deep his love is, if he feels that he’s right or that you’re wrong, he doesn’t back down."
  • "When his mom made him step down from being class president because his grades were slipping, he didn’t speak to her for two years. His own mama, a single parent of eight! He lived in her house, ate her food while he sat at her table and didn’t say a word to her for two years. All because he didn’t feel the love that his mom was trying to give him."
  • "Tavis said the things he said about Barack because he wants the black people that he loves so much to think -- but to most of you, it sounded like hate, and it sounded like that to me too. Love or hate, real or perceived, none of it matters now. What matters is that Tavis wants to quit the TJMS -- and that’s real."
  • "I want you to call him, e-mail him, text him, hug him, kiss him, get him in a corner and wrestle him and tell him how much you love him and appreciate his love for black people. Everyone needs that sometimes. And Tavis needs it right now."

I'm sorry folks--Tavis is a cry baby. Because people are strongly opposed to his views on Barack Obama, he throws in the towel? So much for intellectual discourse. Instead of a hug, he needs a swift kick in the rear. He is definitely getting a Joker of the Week nod.

P.S. - Tom could have kept the story about Tavis not speaking to his mother for two years after she made him give up the class presidency to himself. Umm, that's not an attractive story--it just shows someone spoiled, self-absorbed and stubborn.

11 comments:

TravelDiva said...

Agreed.

Lily said...

MAJOR JOKER!!! GOOD RIDDANCE!!!

Park Avenue said...

"I want you to call him, e-mail him, text him, hug him, kiss him, get him in a corner and wrestle him and tell him how much you love him...." Why didn't Tom Joyner throw in "massage him," too????? Get serious. Tavis Smiley is acting like a baby & no one is checking for his tantrums.

**@ Traveldiva: Thank you for the kind words.**

TravelDiva said...

Amen. As Sean John (I think) says on his t-shirs - NO MORE BITCHASSNESS. This whole drama smells like punk azz to me. If you are gonna speak out and have a pointed opinion about politics (or anything for that matter) than you better have the ballz to handle the heat. Opinions are like belly buttons - everybody got one. What a freakin crybaby.

12kyle said...

Tavis is a sukka. I lost a lotta respect for him. Just a few years ago, he was hollerin about "change in Washington". But when Obama ran against his beloved Clinton...he changed his tune. He's just like Hilary...a loser. I won't cry that he's no longer on Tom's show. Maybe Tom can have the 2 Live Stews on in his spot now?

Can I cast my vote right now???

PCD (Pretty Circle Drawer) said...

and that is exactly why tavis can go hide under a rock...he needs to feel the love? um, this isn't a concert. i'm not jumping up and down, screaming to show you love. you can kiss my grits with your overly sensitive, self-important foolishness.

oh, and go get a REAL haircut now that you'll have some extra time, puh-lease!

12kyle said...

LMAO @ PCD!!!

Tavis DOES need a real haircut. I dunno WHAT he does (or doesn't do) with his hair.

TravelDiva said...

Lily - LOL

P.A. - LMAO at the massage. SO TRUE! And you're more than welcome.

Salesdiva - I can't think of a more appropriate quote!!

12Kyle - LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree wholeheartedly. Tavis wanted to be the first black president.

PCD - SO TRUE! If he can't take the heat, he needs to get the heck out of the kitchen. I mean if you express your views as a "living" be prepared for the fact that people aren't always going to agree with you.

Smarty P. Jones said...

Ya'll are doggin' out my man Tavis. Granted he has been jumping up and down on my good nerve lately but he doesn't deserve all this.
I know I'm in the minority but I think the brother raises some good points when the Clintons are not involved.
I pointed out a long time ago that he wasn't being as hard on Clinton as he was on Obama, but at the same time, he's not doing anything more than a lot of other folks in America have done.
Honestly, I think we have done precisely what we accuse other folks of doing and that is thinking he should vote race above his personal beliefs.
I applaud him for having the balls to stick to his candidate when folks started to turn against him.
I do, however, think he's a punk and fully deserving of a Joker nod for cutting and running now. He should at least stay until the election is no longer a hot button issue. Nothing says loyalty like going down with a sinking ship.
And let's face it, there aren't any major differences in Obama and Clinton policies, he's simply able to articulate them better.
Just my $.02.

TravelDiva said...

Point taken Smarty. My animosity towards Tavis goes back farther than the Obama stuff. I personally lost respect for Tavis during the '04 election when he became angry that Carol Mosely Braun didn't announce her withdrawal from the presidential race on his show. On TMJS, he said, "This just proves the old adage that n*ggas ain't sh*t." For me that's when his ego shined more brightly than his quest to uplift black people and I just lost a lot of respect for him.

Sassy said...

he needs to grow up

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