For WFAN’s Keith McPherson, making fun of a caller’s accent is not out of the question.
In embarrassing footage from his overnight show after the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night, McPherson mocked a caller’s accent and then repeatedly emphasized his decision after another caller pointed it out to him.
“If anyone feels disrespected or feels it’s vulgar, that’s fine. I don’t care at all. I don’t think so,” McPherson said. “I have no idea what kind of accent he has.”
While it’s generally considered a bad idea to make fun of someone because of their accent, McPherson chose that tactic when a caller who described himself as “Chippy,” a 35-year-old Yankees fan from Queens, accused him of being biased against the Mets and supporting the Yankees.
The WFAN host is a die-hard Yankees fan.
Chippy had a strong accent and it was difficult to understand his point, so MacPherson went on the offensive.
“That was a tough call, Chippy. I have no idea what you just said,” McPherson said. “I’m sure I heard it (imitating accent) ‘Don’t trash the Yankees.’ Cap. I’ve been trashing the Yankees organization my whole life on this show. That stupid lineup they put out, I know a lot of you are only hearing what you want to hear, and that’s fine. You can’t make me listen to what I have to say. I know Yankees fans, but (imitating accent) ‘Don’t call The Fan and say what I’ve been saying for 35 years’ — I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t understand what you were saying, and from what little I picked up, you’re wrong.”
McPherson’s actions did not go unnoticed, as another caller later called and stated his own views, saying he loved and respected McPherson, before condemning his actions.
“I listen to this radio station a lot, and people lose, people criticize, but don’t make fun of people with foreign accents just because they’re making fun of your opinions. Come on, you shouldn’t do that,” he said. “That’s pretty despicable for someone from such a popular radio station in New York City.”
And it was then that MacPherson began to defend his actions without showing the slightest bit of remorse.
“It was a return serve,” McPherson replied. “He was coming at me. From what I could make out…”
The caller interjected: “That’s a low-level return serve. Making fun of someone’s accent means you couldn’t respond to what they said, which means you had to rely on their accent.”
McPherson fired back, this time hiding his impressions: “All I could take from what he said was, ‘You’re biased. You’re criticizing the Mets, but not the Yankees.’
The caller, Abe from Brooklyn, Awful Announcinghe stuck to his ground.
“Answer what he said. You can’t make fun of his foreign accent just because you didn’t hear him,” he said. “Look, Keith.”
But McPherson wasn’t buying it.
“Of course you can. I think it’s a return serve. It’s fair. I just didn’t understand what he said,” McPherson said, while the caller again tried to explain why it was unnecessary. “Abe, all I could understand was, ‘You’re biased. Blame the Mets, don’t blame the Yankees.'”
“I spoke to him with the same accent.”
Prime Minister Abe then made his most scathing remarks.
“I listen to this radio show a lot and I don’t know anyone so vile as to make fun of someone’s accent,” he said.
It would have been easy for McPherson to at least admit the caller’s allegations, but he continued to insist he did nothing wrong.
“It’s done, it’s done, return serve. I told him if he wanted to slow down, come back,” McPherson said. “None of this is that serious. None of this is that personal. We’re all strangers.”
“I don’t know what his name was, but Chippy? Like I said, that phone call was Chippy, I couldn’t understand what you were talking about.”
MacPherson eventually admitted he appreciated the feedback, but remained adamant.
“I am not retracting anything I have said or done on this radio station. I stand by it,” McPherson said. “His actions are his actions. We can agree if we disagree. Radio is live. I cannot and will not retract it.”
“Like I said, don’t go coming at me and think it won’t come back at you. I don’t understand what you’re saying, boss. I couldn’t understand what you were saying. But what I did understand a little bit is that you were shooting and it was wrong. I’m sorry.”
McPherson, who has certainly received some criticism, has since tried to play down the incident, making it seem like making fun of accents was just part of the game.
“Chippy, don’t take this as a personal attack,” McPherson said. “I didn’t understand what you were talking about. We’re adults. This is a sport. This is a debate. This is a back and forth. If you attack me, I’ll attack you. If you take it as a personal attack, take it as a personal attack. … If you come through with your accent and you’re fair and you’re not attacking me, you’re not going to be attacked back. It’s payback and that’s it.”
As of early Thursday morning, McPherson had not mentioned the incident on his X account.
