Tom Leykis: Radio Prophet or Pervert? 

If you haven’t heard of tom leykis, chances are that you’re probably not an American.  As a non-American, I had only become familiar with the likes of Tom Leykis very recently when I heard a broadcast of his Tom Leykis Show.  To those people outside of the U-S-of-A, tom leykis and everything he is seemingly about, can be discovered for yourself by doing Internet searches looking for radio stations that do live Internet streaming of his Tom Leykis Show. 

As a male within the 21-35-age demographic, I fit the bill as his ‘target’ audience, and I could see why.  Tom Leykis is a relatively funny guy performing to his role as a ‘shock jock’ ala Howard Stern, with a comedic and political appeal to the simple-minded man.  While I don’t necessarily consider myself to be a simple-minded man through and through, I can appreciate low-brow, somewhat prejudiced views, especially if they are presented in a funny, albeit politically-incorrect way.  In a similar vein, I bust a gut whenever I see Dave Chappelle portrays crackheads, just like I laughed probably too hard when I saw the Family Guy’s dead prostitute episode.  You know you shouldn’t laugh, something (the power above?) is telling you that it is wrong and immoral, and yet there is something so inherently amusing about the façade of political correctness that makes it the best target of satirical humor.  I think that many males in the 21 to 35-age demographic feel the same way, which is something that Tom Leykis probably understands.

Whether females in the 21-35-age demographic feel the same way about tom leykis and the Tom Leykis Show is an entirely differently story, and to their defense I can understand why they would feel outraged about Tom Leykis and the content that spews out of his mouth.  His outlook on women, dating, and marriage may be considered misogynistic by some, and all too true by others who can relate to his viewpoint based on shared experiences.  He has a segment on his show called “Leykis 101”, where he (as “Professor Tom”) advises men how to effectively get sex from women with the most minimal effort.  Another segment called “Flash Friday” entails women who are enlisted to flash their breasts at cars during rush hour traffic.

During my research on Tom Leykis, I did discover that he was aired briefly in my native Canada, in the City of Vancouver in the west coast Province of British Columbia.  There the Tom Leykis Show was broadcasted by the 'mens' radion station, MOJO.  Tom Leykis brief stint here is a testament to his controversial manner and phenomenal popularity.  

Just like everywhere his show has aired, Tom Leykis brang MOJO high ratings almost instantaneosly.  In only 6 months in Vancouver, the Tom Leykis Show became one of the highest rated shows as it became the centerpeice show for MOJO.  However, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Council (CRTC) had issues with his in-your-face opinions particularly towards females.  His 'sexual stereotyping' violated the CRTC code of ethics, and consequently MOJO was forced to cancel his show.  The entire act raised controversy on its own as Tom Leykis' loyal following questioned the CRTC's suppresion of free speech in Canada.

Whether you like him or hate him, everybody can agree that Tom Leykis is controversial, and everybody knows that controversy sells, which is why Tom Leykis has risen to become one the biggest radio personalities in the history of American radio.  To his credit, Tom Leykis embraces the controversial that surrounds him and doesn’t shy away from his criticism.  Either he is a marketing genius, a masochist, or a bit of both, Tom Leykis has a special section on his official website devoted to hate mail he receives.  This is what some of his detractors think of him from his website’s choice “Hate Mail”:

“You make me madder than hell!! I use to like your show but now anytime someone intelligent calls and challenges you all you do is blab over them and cut them off before they are finished! That makes YOU sound like an idiot because you can't let yourself be challenged on your own show.”

“You horrible hideous piece of shit. I wish you would die.”

“YOU ARE A FAT ASS, CHEESEBURGER EATING, NO INTELLECT HAVING, CRANKY, NO PUSSY-GETTING DRUNK, AND YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT!”

“I would just like to say that your show is a scar on society and that you have no regard for the female sex. As for the women callers and listeners, why do you listen to this crap? I think your show is degrading to all women and should be canceled. Frankly, I can't see why people listen this monkey crap, unless they have the IQ of dirt, then it would sound some-what intelligent.” 

“YOU SIR, ARE A RAPEMONGERER.”

“I would run the other way if I saw you. You remind of a child molester and man who would let another man suck his dick. I hope some waitress take a shit in your food and your die.”

“If ignorance was a crime you'd be serving several life sentences in the penetentiary right now.”

“The seven deadly sins are: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, Sloth.  Name one that is not represented in your daily life. Enjoy hell, Tom. You will not be missed.”

“I didn't know you're a smut peddling degenerate as well as an angry, bitter misogynist.”

”How long are you going to hustle a bunch of 17 to 27 year old dim-wits well on their way to becoming angry, bitter losers like yourself?”