Controversial American radio host Don Imus has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 79 years old. In 2009 he revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after battling alcoholism and drug addiction during his adult life.
Imus died Friday at a hospital in College Station, Texas, after being admitted on Christmas Eve. A cause of death is unknown at this time.
Imus hosted his radio that started in the ’60s and had a career spanning 50 years in the business and which he was fired by CBS because of his 2007 rant that made headlines for his offensive remarks about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team, who he referred to as “nappy-headed ‘hos” and “jigaboos.”
Don faced many lawsuits and accusations of defamatory speech and had a well-known rivalry with fellow shock jock and controversial radio host Howard Stern.