MJ-Bubba Trial Juror: ‘Never Listening To Radio Again'

Todd Schnitt

As controversy swirled and media coverage exploded following the court verdict last week that shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem did not defame rival radio star Todd "MJ" Schnitt, jury forewoman Kristy Craig feared a lesson was being lost.

So she typed up an email to the Tampa Bay Times, eventually agreeing to become the first juror from the trial to speak on the record, stressing that a verdict for Clem did not equal an endorsement of the material on his show.

"I hated this case," wrote Craig, 36, of Tampa. " 'Hate' is not a word used often in my vocabulary, but I hated it. I hate the word 'whore.' I did not count (though, sitting through over 60 hours of testimony, I had plenty of time to), but I assume I heard the word 'whore' upwards of a hundred times. As a woman, I hate what it implies."

Her email continued: "(But) I love that I can hate the antics of Bubba the Love Sponge. I love that he can say all that sexist, worthless drivel to 400,000 radio listeners every day. I love that I can change the station."

Todd Clem

Schnitt filed his lawsuit against Clem back in 2008, saying his rival made "false, highly offensive and defamatory statements" about him and his wife, Michelle, as competition heated up between the two on morning radio.

Reminded that an alternate juror said Schnitt should "put on his big-girl panties" and accept that criticism comes with his job, Craig offered her own version:

"I think they both need to put their big-boy pants on and find something valuable to talk about," she said. She noted, "Nobody wants to sit around and listen to two men call each other names. I work with 12-year-olds; I do that with them and try to teach them better."

And Craig had a final conclusion, written as the last line in her email to the Times:

"I love that I have some awesome CDs in my car. I am never listening to the radio again."

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