Hot 97’s ‘Ebro in the Morning’ Addresses Paddy Duke’s Firing
Written by SOURCE on August 25, 2020
Hot 97 was hit with shocking news when it was revealed that Pasquale “Paddy Duke” Raucci was connected to the murder of Yusuf Hawkins. This moved the hosts of one of the station’s biggest show, Ebro in the Morning, to speak on how this discovery had impacted Hot 97.
“The realization is that this couldn’t be swept under the rug, obviously,” Ebro Darden explained at the clip’s 2-minute mark. “So he’s been fired.”
Hot 97 announced on Sunday that it has cut ties with Raucci after the HBO documentary Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn named him as a possible accomplice in Hawkins’ murder.
This documentary details how a large mob of white men attacked Hawkins in 1989, shooting and killing the Black 16-year-old. Per his LinkedIn page, Raucci had been employed by Hot 97 since 1994—just five years after the murder. Because of his tenure with the company and insistence to go by Paddy Duke, people at Hot 97 were not aware of his connection to the killing.
“Or you got here in 2009,” Peter Rosenberg said to Laura Stylez. “You’re like ‘Hey nice to meet you. What’s you’re information? I’mma look some things up.’ That’s not how people operate.”
Despite Rosenberg and Stylez claiming that they knew little about Paddy Duke’s life, Ebro admits that he had spoken to Duke about Hawkins’ murder and Duke told him that he was a suspect.
“Based on what I know about the NYPD,” Ebro continued. “Neighborhoods getting swept up around a murder that’s normal procedure especially in the late ’80s and ’90s. … And what am I going to say to a guy I work with? I don’t believe you?”
This comes after people were upset at Hot 97 and Darden for working with Duke even though he was there long before Ebro came into the picture.
Still, Ebro apologized for the confusion and emotions Paddy Duke’s presence caused.
“On behalf of our team on Ebro in the Morning, we apologize that this is even happening,” Ebro said. “It was out of our control but we’re here now and we apologize.”
Watch the full clip of Ebro in the Morning addressing Paddy Duke’s firing above.
