On Wednesday, June 25, 2008, during a live broadcast of a wedding reception on the TODAY Show, Kathy Lee Gifford gratuitously referred to Pagans as "nasty, bad Pagans." This is, by every definition, hate speech.
Many Americans think Ms. Gifford is charming. These same viewers are likeliest to believe what they hear on television and/or from the mouths of celebrities. Ms. Gifford's hate speech has done harm to American Pagans' ability to live in peace with our neighbors of other faiths. By allowing her hate speech to be broadcast, her direct employer the TODAY Show, and their network, NBC, participate in that hate speech.
We the undersigned call upon Kathy Lee Gifford, the TODAY Show and NBC to rectify the damage they have done to the Pagan faith community. At the very least, an on-air apology is required. A TODAY Show program devoted to dispelling misconceptions about Pagans and Paganism would go a long ways toward undoing the damage.
Furthermore, we the undersigned are conducting a BOYCOTT against the sponsor of that TODAY Show segment, Samsung, until such time as we receive justice.
