AEGiS-WashBlade: Z104 host criticized for HIV remark: Some say Haber's weight loss comment insensitive

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Z104 host criticized for HIV remark: Some say Haber's weight loss comment insensitive

Washington Blade - December 19, 2003
Bryan Anderton

For many commuters in the Washington, D.C. area, the morning radio show "Haber & Erin" on WWZZ 104.1 FM is a pleasant distraction from their morning commute. Whether it's interviewing "Survivor" castaways or just talking about their families, the co-hosts of the popular show - Brett Haber, Erin Carman and J.C. Fernandez - usually keep the audience chuckling.

But some local residents say a comment made on the air earlier this month by Haber - in which he suggested using HIV to lose weight - is no laughing matter.

During the Dec. 3 show, two days after World AIDS Day, Carman told the crew she had been sick with the flu and, as a result, lost weight that she gained during Thanksgiving. Carman and Fernandez joked back and forth for several seconds about going on the "flu diet" to lose weight, when Haber cut in.

"Can I just say to the two of you, stop it," Haber said. When Carman and Fernandez joked a bit more about the subject, Haber replied, "I don't have any flu, but I can offer you some excellent weight-loss HIV if you'd like." The comment elicited loud groans from Carman and Fernandez.

Several listeners called and e-mailed the station complaining that the remark was insensitive and demanding an apology.

"It infuriates me. To say that you can offer someone HIV to lose weight - you know, no one asks for it, and very few people are out there looking for it," said Shawn Henderson, a 29-year-old HIV-positive D.C. resident. "Even to say it flippantly like that says to me that either, one, he doesn't care about it, two, he's not educated about it, or three, society's become so complacent about it that we feel we can joke about it."

Z104: No offense intended

But officials at Z104 said the comments were not meant to be offensive, and the station understands the severity of HIV/AIDS.

"Let me be perfectly clear: There is nothing funny about AIDS or HIV. Period," Mike Edwards, the station's program manager, told the Blade in an e-mail response to a request to interview Haber about his on-air comment. "It upsets me to know that anyone listening to our radio station may have mistaken what was said that morning for something that could be considered offensive to the AIDS/HIV community."

Edwards said Haber made the comment sarcastically to illustrate the absurdity of purposely catching the flu to lose weight.

"Brett invoked the topic of HIV/AIDS only to point out that it would be equally absurd to suggest that someone use those conditions as a 'diet plan,'" Edwards said.

Edwards said an exchange between the co-hosts several seconds after the comment was made pointed out Haber's intentions.

Haber: "To even suggest the idea that the flu is a positive means of people losing weight-"

Fernandez: "No, I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying in Erin's situation, we came in on Monday and she said, 'Ugh, that's all we did over the weekend was eat and eat and eat-" ...

Fernandez: "And I feel disgusting, and blah, blah, blah - and she's just saying, 'I only ate two crackers yesterday.' I'm not saying get AIDS to lose weight. I'm not saying that."

Henderson said he felt the comment was "probably just a really dumb off-the-cuff remark." But he said that doesn't excuse using insensitive language on a popular radio show.

"To be a radio voice, to say something like that off-the-cuff on the air, I feel is very irresponsible," Henderson said. He said he would like Haber to apologize on the air, and to publish a written apology on the station's Web site, since listeners tune in to the show at different times on different days.

"Even if he admitted to just saying it off-the-cuff, I think it's important for them to acknowledge that a mistake was made, instead of going on and saying that the situation is taken care of, and not saying anything," Henderson said.

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