PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2020-02-05 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did Rush Limbaugh Accuse Michael J. Fox of Exaggerating His Parkinson's Symptoms? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • In February 2020, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. While U.S. President Donald Trump honored the controversial commentator with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, some social media users noted that Limbaugh had a history of making demeaning comments on his program. For instance, one widely shared video clip supposedly showed Limbaugh mocking actor Michael J. Fox and claiming that he was exaggerating symptoms of his Parkinson's disease. This is a genuine clip of Limbaugh describing Fox on his program. Media Matters archived the full audio of this segment, which originally aired during an Oct. 23, 2006, episode of Limbaugh's radio show. Here's a partial transcript of the segment: Fox, who is probably best known for playing young conservative Alex P. Keaton on the show Family Ties and the time-traveling high school student Marty McFly in the Back to the Future series, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991. In 2006, he filmed a 30-second ad for former Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and her support of stem cell research: Limbaugh was commenting on this advertisement in the above-displayed clip. The segment stirred considerable controversy at the time and even drew an apology from Limbaugh. The Guardian reported: Hours later the talkshow host was forced to retract. 'I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong.' While Limbaugh initially apologized, he would later say on his show that he never made fun of Fox and that this controversy was created by the drive-by media. Limbaugh also renewed attacks on Fox and said that the actor was allowing his illness to be exploited and was shilling for a Democratic politician. The Washington Post reported: Fox responded to the criticism a few times over the years. Here he is talking to reporter Katie Couric a few days after Limbaugh's segment: While Limbaugh accused Fox of either acting or forgetting to take his medication, the actor told Couric that he was actually too medicated in this ad: Limbaugh has made several controversial statements during his career. However, it should be noted that some quotes attributed to him have been presented without proper context or sourcing. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url