Michael Savage on Autism

Posted by Melissa Hincha-Ownby Jul 26, 2008

On July 16, 2008, Michael Savage made the following remark on his radio talk show Savage Nation: “You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is, in 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is." Savage has been considered a “conservative shock jock” but this statement went behind shock and was outright offensive to the autism community.

As a result of this statement, many national organizations rallied together to call for the cancellation of Savage’s show. AutismLink, the National Autism Association and several Autism Society of America chapters were part of this push to hold Savage accountable for his actions.

As a result of the media coverage of the event, several large advertisers pulled their support of the program including Aflac and DirectBuy. In addition to advertisings bowing out, stations across the United States that air Savage Nation have dropped the program from their lineup. Stations in Ohio, Virginia and Mississippi have all confirmed the cancellation of the show.

In addition to organizations geared towards family members of individuals with autism (like the NAA), the Autistic Self Advocacy network also spoke out against Savage Nation with a letter from Ari Ne’eman denouncing Savage’s statement as well as the support Savage has received from Talk Radio Networks which syndicates the Savage show.

All of this comes on the heels of a very public statement by Adam Jasinski of Big Brother 9 calling the autistic children he works with “retards.” Jasinski has since apologized for the statement, something Savage isn’t likely to do.