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When we learned of the news that Columbus Short had been fired from the hit series, “Scandal” no one was surprised. In fact, we had discussed it just the week before in our Did Y’all See episode, speculating that Shonda was tired of hearing about Short’s deplorable behavior on the weekends and didn’t want the stench of his personal life negatively impacting the great work they were doing on set.

I know there are some true, die hard Harrison fans out there, but honestly, I don’t think Short’s absence will hurt the show one way or another. But apparently comedian and radio host, D.L. Hughley rides for Harrison/Columbus Short like no other. And if you have any doubt about that, you need look no further than a recent radio show where he discussed the allegations Tuere (aka Tanee) McCall-Short, Columbus’ wife, made against him and how, in his opinion, it would be best for her to simply “shut the f*ck up.”

This segment was levels and layers of wrong but we should first begin with the fact that Hughley doesn’t believe McCall-Short’s claims. He believes that since the couple is going through a divorce proceeding, she’s out to sully his reputation.

He said,

“The star of one of the hottest dramas in the country, chokes the f*ck out of his wife? That doesn’t ever happen. I don’t think it happened first off. Like the time Warren Sapp was getting ready to do the Super Bowl and some broad said that he raped her. There are just as many examples of women lying on men in the middle of divorce proceedings to get what they want, as there are men who actually do anything. My point is if he did what she’s alleging he did, she could still get all that she’s going to have and not bring it up now, when it damages his market value that she’s going to be impacted by. If he loses that job nobody’s living in Calabasas anymore.” 

Hughley goes on to say, “I guarantee you, three years from now she’s going to be thinking, “Damn, I should have shut the f*ck up. Cuz women always running out the mouth when they shouldn’t.” 

And then for comedic effect, as his female co-host Jasmine Sanders is speaking, he tunes out almost chanting “dizzy ass broad,“dizzy b*tch” in the background.

Sanders was trying to argue that McCall-Short didn’t run to the tabloids with news that her estranged husband beat her, she filed a police report and a restraining order and TMZ was the agency who learned of the news and broke the story.

Hughley dismissed her, saying that if it hadn’t gotten out she would have sold it to the media. When Sanders accused him of hating women, he said “I don’t hate women. I hate dumb b*tches. I hate women who act against their interests.” 

Sanders then suggested that maybe, perhaps McCall-Short was more concerned for her life than her actual lifestyle. Hughley couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around that one. Instead, he continued to berate McCall-Short, even admitting that if Columbus has an anger or abuse problem, it was Tuere’s fault for picking him. Hughley even managed to throw a little dirt on his own name in the process.

“When you’re very young, you’re very volatile. I’ve been in situations where the police were called. I don’t believe that every time someone says something in the heat of anger, they actually mean it. Everybody want a thug dude, a passionate dude, until you gotta live with your mother in an undisclosed location. You know what kind of dude you picked. Stop it.” 

Hughley’s comments are so disgusting, so vile that I had a hard time believing they came from his mouth. But I listened to the audio and that is indeed him. To hear it is far worse than reading it. There is true loathing behind his voice as if he knows McCall-Short personally. As if she alone represents the women who stand to threaten the little bit of wealth black entertainers have amassed–largely through the support of black women, I might add. I’m not here to psychoanalyze Hughley…professionally but by his own admission his mother wasn’t the most supportive woman in his life. On CNN, he detailed an incident where he won his mother an apple at the fair and she bit into it and said, “This apple is rotten just like you are.”  Judging by his comments on the radio show, it seems that perhaps he hasn’t dealt with those issues and they’re showing up in his opinions and treatment of women.

I’m so tired of hearing men say dumb stuff like “I don’t hate women, I hate b*tches.” Though they would like you to believe otherwise, please believe at the end of the day, in a heated argument, the words are interchangeable. In Hughley’s mind, with no concrete proof, he’s determined that this woman is of low moral standing and she deserves to be called a bitch in a public forum for reporting her domestic abuse? If that’s not woman hating, silencing an allegedly abuse victim, a woman with a child, for the sake of a man’s career, I don’t know what is. Hughley believes that Columbus’ three measly seasons on “Scandal” are more important than McCall-Short’s life being threatened. If you listen to the tape, you’ll hear him argue with Sanders, when she suggests that Columbus could have killed her, “He wasn’t gon’ kill her.” 

Negro, please! You sound crazy.

I understand that women do lie but no more than men. I would love to compare the number of times women have been caught or admitted to lying about being raped or abused vs. the number of times men have raped and beaten women. I’m willing to bet good money that the latter far outweighs the former. I’m not naive enough to believe women don’t lie. And I find those women deplorable and counterproductive to those who have actually endured these tragedies, but the lie exists because rape and domestic abuse are so prevalent, it’s believable.

I don’t know one hundred percent whether McCall-Short is lying or not. Personally, I never doubted the validity of her claims. In fact, knowing that McCall-Short had attempted to file for divorce from Columbus late last year let me know that she had been trying to end this relationship for some time now. Then there was the incident of Columbus fighting someone in a bar because the troll suggested that he had some type of personal relationship with his wife. If we’re going to go along with Hughley’s argument, Columbus who is the “star” of a hit tv show, wouldn’t be knocking random dudes in the bar unconscious, he has too much to lose. But that’s not the case. We’ve seen firsthand that when he’s angry, he resorts to violence. Furthermore, the bar fight happened because the man suggested he was involved with McCall-Short which is right in line with the police report she filed in which she described Short putting a knife to her throat and asking her to name all of the men she’d slept with. There’s a pattern. Does that mean I know without a shadow of a doubt that he did abuse her? No, but I can’t understand what leads Hughley to suggest that she is out for the money and simultaneously trying to destroy his reputation in the process.

My hope is that the community takes Hughley to task for his comments, that, if he doesn’t apologize to McCall-Short, that he really reflects on his poisonous mindset, seeing that he has two daughters and a wife and, in the best case scenario, sits on someone’s couch and work these things out.

I doubt this will happen as his despicable ways and misogyny have been the norm for so long and have made him quite a bit of money. But one can only hope.

What do you think about Hughley’s comments about Tuere McCall-Short?

You can listen to a majority of the radio show in the video below but be forewarned it’s hard to stomach.

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Hat Tip to Kirsten West Savali at XOJame

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