Dr Laura Schlessinger's 'N-word' outburst

Dr Laura Schlessinger, a nationally-syndicated US radio host, told a black woman with a white husband: "don't marry out of your race" – and repeatedly used the word "nigger" on air even after her caller objected.

A women, named Jade, had called Schlessinger's popular advice show to discuss the racism she endures from her husband's friends. When Schlessinger, a well-known conservative commentator, dismissed the examples she offered, Jade said the friends used what the American media refers to as "the N-word".

Schlessinger replied: "Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO and listen to a black comic, and all you hear is nigger, nigger, nigger. I don't get it. If anybody without enough melanin says it, it's a horrible thing. But when black people say it, it's affectionate. It's very confusing."

When Jade said she was appalled by Schlessinger's language, the agony aunt's responses got increasingly heated, telling Jade: "We've got a black man as president, and we have more complaining about racism than ever. I mean, I think that's hilarious."

Here's an extract of what followed from the show's transcript:

Jade: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?

Schlessinger: It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK.

Jade: But you're not black, they're not black, my husband is white.

Schlessinger: Oh, I see, so a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.

Jade: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the N-word, and I hope everybody heard it.

Schlessinger: I didn't spew out the N-word!

Jade: You said "nigger, nigger, nigger," and I hope everybody heard it.

Schlessinger: Yes they did, and I'll say it again: nigger, nigger, nigger is what you hear on HBO.

The talk show host – the author of Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives, and How Could You Do That? – concluded by telling the caller: "If you're that hypersensitive about colour and don't have a sense of humour, don't marry out of your race."

Schlessinger's show is heard by an estimated nine million listeners each week, with her website claiming that she is "one of the most popular talk show hosts in radio history".

After a wave of outrage in reaction to her comments on Tuesday's show, Schlessinger apologised the following day, saying: "I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the N-word all the way out, more than one time. And that was wrong. I'll say it again, that was wrong."

She also apologised to Jade, adding: "I hope Jade or somebody who knows her is listening, and hope she will call me back and I will try my best to be helpful, which is what she wanted from me in the first place – and what she did not get."