Radio station posts another foul-mouthed tirade from King

By EUGENE BINGHAM

The foul-mouthed war of words between Mike King and a stable of student radio stars is getting dirtier.

A day after King's vitriolic outburst against bFM and television personality Jeremy Wells, aka Newsboy, spread to thousands via email, another abusive and expletive-laden message hit the internet.

Auckland University radio station bFM yesterday posted another clip featuring a swearing King on its website as an encore to the threatening phone message directed at Wells.

But King's agent, David Steele, said last night his client had been set up by the radio station.

"It certainly seems to be quite personal and quite vindictive," said Mr Steele. "It's not even about Newsboy or his show - God the ratings on his show are going to be great - but this is all coming from elsewhere, bFM."

King issued a statement last night apologising for the phone message in which he told Wells he had "

@&%ed with the wrong person" and said it was meant as a joke. He left the message in response to Wells' TV2 show, Eating Media Lunch, which this week featured a satire of King.

The alleged video evidence released yesterday suggested King might have a problem with Wells and his sometimes on-air partner, Mike Havoc, a bFM and television presenter.

The station's website yesterday featured a video clip filmed in October when King was approached by a station staff member at an Auckland hip-hop summit and asked if he had a comment for bFM.

"For bFM?

@&% bFM.

@&% Mikey Havoc. Mikey Havoc suck my

@&%."

Havoc had criticised King's show, Mike King Tonight, on his radio programme days earlier.

The station's general manager Aaron Carson said Havoc had simply been giving his opinion about King's programme and had not deserved the offensive response dished out by King at the hip-hop summit.

"We don't want to have a beat-up on anyone but in light of yesterday's occurrences we thought, well, we don't think the message left on the answerphone is a joke, and here's a little piece of video we've had for some months," said Mr Carson.

King's outbursts were out of order, he said.

But Mr Steele said King had been asked off camera to make some provocative comments about Havoc. He had responded and it was now being used against him, out of context.

"It was very dirty to do it and then to release it on to a website," said Mr Steele.

"Why would you email this thing to 24,000 people other than trying to improve your radio's ratings? I don't know, it's conjecture from my perspective."

The phone message ended up on the internet after it was circulated internally among bFM staff and was forwarded to an advertising agency.

Wells was reluctant to comment, saying he would respond on next week's show.