Philly Radio: Fake Caller Pushes Racial Bounds On WPEN-FM

Mike Missanelli

On his Tuesday show, WPEN 97.5 FM The Fanatic host Mike Missanelli reiterated that he didn’t know frequent caller “Dwayne from Swedesboro” was really a character created by producer Pat Egan, according to philly.com.

“I didn’t know that “Dwayne from Swedesboro” was not a real person,” Missanelli said to open his show, noting that seemingly everyone at the station, including on-air partner Jason Myrtetus, was in on the bit.

“I would not have authorized a racially charged caller like that,” Missanelli said, noting that a white producer creating a black character with some racial stereotypes might have pushed "racial bounds."

"If I had known it was a fake, I would have shut down this immediately because I was sensitive to the racial undertones involved," Missanelli said.

Missanelli made it clear that neither Myrtetus nor Egan would be punished for the incident.

Missanelli devoted nearly the entire first two hours of his show to responding to the story, first reported by Crossing Broad’s Kyle Scott, about a fake caller frequently calling into the show.

Missanelli apologized to anyone who was offended on racial grounds, but struggled to understand why it had become such a big story.