Lawyer: Duane 'Dog' Chapman's son sold N-word tape for 'a lot of money'

CherryDarling · November 2nd, 2007, 12:01 AM

Television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's son taped a private phone conversation in which the reality star used a racial slur repeatedly, then sold it to a tabloid for "a lot of money," Chapman's lawyer said Thursday.

"I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner," attorney Brook Hart told The Associated Press.

Tucker Chapman could not be reached for comment; no one answered the telephone at a Honolulu number listed under his name.

The National Enquirer on Wednesday posted on its Web site a clip of a conversation in which Duane Chapman, star of the hit A&E series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," repeatedly used the N-word in reference to Tucker's girlfriend.

Chapman later apologized to his son and the woman, then learned about how the tape got into the tabloid's hands, Hart said.

A&E has suspended production of the series, saying the network takes the matter seriously.

"When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action," A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said in a statement Thursday.

The show, in its fifth season and one of A&E's top-rated programs, has not been canceled.

An after-hours telephone message for David Perel, the Enquirer's editor in chief, was not immediately returned. But earlier in the day, Perel declined to say how the tape was obtained, saying what mattered was what's on the tape.

In the conversation, Chapman urges Tucker to break up with his girlfriend. He also expresses concern about the girlfriend trying to tape and go public about the TV star's use of the N-word.

Chapman has said he was "disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term." He also said he was ashamed of himself and pledged to make amends.

Hart said his client is not a racist and vowed never to use the word again.

"I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character," he said. "Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets."

The TV series follows Chapman and his tattooed crew as they track down bail jumpers in Hawaii and other states. The show also stars some members of Chapman's family, but Tucker Chapman is not regularly featured.

The Honolulu-based bounty hunter first grabbed headlines for apprehending serial rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003.

source: Lawyer: Chapman's son sold N-word tape - Yahoo! News

Why am I not surprised?

pacific breeze · November 2nd, 2007, 12:04 AM

The worm is already starting to turn.

kingcap72 · November 2nd, 2007, 12:27 AM

"I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character," he said. "Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets."

Yeah. Duane just doesn't want his son dating a woman of a certain color because it puts a damper on, by his own admission, rampant use of a racial slur that demeans that women's race.

honeysuckle · November 2nd, 2007, 12:32 AM

what ever happened to blood is thicker than water. i am not saying it is right but damn my family members are not saints but i don't go back stabbing. if i don't agree with something they say or do i talk to them and if they still feel the same or push it i will drop it and never speak of it again and do what i want.

pacific breeze · November 2nd, 2007, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingcap72

"I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character," he said. "Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets."

Yeah. Duane just doesn't want his son dating a woman of a certain color because it puts a damper on, by his own admission, rampant use of a racial slur that demeans that women's race.

It sounded more to me -- and I listened to the entire tape -- that he objected to her on the basis of her character, not her colour. Unfortunately, he used her race to attack her, which was stupid. As I said before, there is a lot here that we don't know and until I hear both sides of the story, I'm withholding judgment. His spiritual mentor is a black man -- surely if he was such a racist, he wouldn't have CHOSEN him to be his mentor.

A lot of stuff here isn't adding up, and I'm sure the whole ugly story on BOTH sides will eventually trickle out. Meanwhile, his son got a big payday, way to go scumbag. Sounds to me he was more interested in cashing in than worrying about whether his father was a racist.

Flak · November 2nd, 2007, 01:16 AM

When you raise children with certain values, that is what you get.

Honey · November 2nd, 2007, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeysuckle

what ever happened to blood is thicker than water. i am not saying it is right but damn my family members are not saints but i don't go back stabbing. if i don't agree with something they say or do i talk to them and if they still feel the same or push it i will drop it and never speak of it again and do what i want.

Me too, some people are so greedy though and money is more important to them

nycgirl · November 2nd, 2007, 01:31 AM

doesn't change his racist words or the way he said he didn't want to have to not use the N word (suggesting it's common for him to do so on a normal basis)

msdeb · November 2nd, 2007, 02:29 AM

i think if his son indeed sold the tape, he's a lowlife. daddy is a lowlife for allowing it to come to that. but that being said, how on earth could he have known that his son would do that? a lot of shit has been said in my home, and some of it i'm sure i would not put out for public consumption.

kingcap72 · November 2nd, 2007, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

It sounded more to me -- and I listened to the entire tape -- that he objected to her on the basis of her character, not her colour. Unfortunately, he used her race to attack her, which was stupid. As I said before, there is a lot here that we don't know and until I hear both sides of the story, I'm withholding judgment. His spiritual mentor is a black man -- surely if he was such a racist, he wouldn't have CHOSEN him to be his mentor.

A lot of stuff here isn't adding up, and I'm sure the whole ugly story on BOTH sides will eventually trickle out. Meanwhile, his son got a big payday, way to go scumbag. Sounds to me he was more interested in cashing in than worrying about whether his father was a racist.

Well, what I heard was a continual use of the N-word and how he didn't want his son to date a black woman because he wanted to be able to freely use the word. There's no cleaning that up or explaining that away. That was the nuts and bolts of it.

And it doesn't matter that his son set him up and sold the story, or that it was a private conversation. The fact remains that it was Duane on the tape. Case closed right there.

pacific breeze · November 2nd, 2007, 04:04 AM

^^Those things do matter to me, though. Context is everything. A black person can say the n-word -- and frankly, I hate the power we give to these words, that after all are JUST words -- and it is usually considered fine in that context. A white person could say it onstage in a part -- would that make them a racist? Doubtful. Yet they SAID it.

I subscribe to Lenny Bruce's theory that if you say the "bad" words often enough, they have no meaning and no power to harm. I am white, but I have been called plenty of names in my day, and spent a lot of years working in a male-dominated and pretty rough profession where I took a lot of abuse and suffered rampant discrimination based solely on my gender. It bothered me a lot at first but eventually I just ignored it and went about my business as best I could. Most of the overt stuff stopped, and a lot of the men became if not my friends, at least my colleagues on an equal level. Some are probably still sexist pigs, but that is their problem, not mine.

I realize that race discrimination is a very complex problem and I wouldn't begin to dissect it here, but I do believe after meeting literally thousands upon thousands of people over the years, that everybody is a little bit racist in their own way. It goes back to the way we are socialized. Most of us know that it is wrong and we take pains to change our attitudes and behaviors. Sometimes the racism is systemic and harder to identify and root out. I'm not saying that it is OK and that everyone should give into their baser instincts, but it is a simple fact of life.

I heard Dog say the same things you did but I also intuited a pretty strong indication that he didn't like her for other reasons as well. It seems a little strange to me that she would be desperate to tape him and ruin his career over this -- that sounds more like something his son wants for revenge/money and this was a convenient excuse. Duane isn't exactly a rocket scientist and he's not very well educated. Most bounty hunters aren't on the top rung of society. He's ignorant and insensitive and it shows.

Time will tell what this is really all about because I am sure this story is far from over. And if he turns out to be a genuine racist, I will be the first to call him out.

Reptillycus · November 2nd, 2007, 04:37 AM

Which son is this, I am confused, is this his blood son, or his adopted son...Don't know why this matters to me, but it popped up as a question in my head.
Don't think one should tape your relatives, unless it's for a domestic abuse case, or custody issue, and even then, I have reservations. What one says in the privacy of the living room or the bedroom is just that, private. I have heard many diverse racial slurs, from different directions, from many people, and the context is very important. Color of skin dictates what may be said and not said? Maybe...again, circumstance and context is important. Calling out the bad guys makes for a close neighborhood...