Airwaves changed; Bubba's the same
By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published March 31, 2007
It's been three years since Tampa's 98Rock canned him, and more than a year since Sirius Satellite Radio gave him the national audience he craved. But the legacy of shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem lives on in bay area courts.
No, Clem hasn't been sued by the heirs of a pig that was slaughtered on his show in 2001, or even by Scooby Doo, who mused about sex during an on-air skit. That latter bit helped earn station owner Clear Channel Communications a $755,000 federal indecency fine in 2004.
But two ongoing suits against Clem, 40, suggest he hasn't changed his spots. They also demonstrate something his fans may find truly offensive about the radio world: Shocking behavior, like foot powder or life insurance, is just another commodity.
The first case concerns intellectual property, a term rarely applied to Clem's work. Voice-over artist John Wells says Clem and Sirius violated his rights last year by playing clips Wells had recorded for 98Rock. Among them: an outtake of Wells refusing to read the "rock bottom" copy that Clem's staff had handed him. Clem's lawyers say he owns the 98Rock content and his Clear Channel contract proves it.
The contract may be more intriguing than the suit itself. It shows that when Clem was fired, he and his staff were being paid at the rate of $600,000 per year by the San Antonio, Texas, company, were eligible for up to $220,000 per year in incentive bonuses based on Arbitron ratings, received $750 per month for each Clem-voiced ad and pocketed unspecified amounts from the sale of CDs and other items.
The second Clem-related suit, filed by Hope Miller, doesn't lack for drama. Miller, a Plant City native and Internet porn actor who performs as Brooke Skye, accused Clem and his staff of physically and emotionally coercing her to have on-air sex with a woman wearing an oversized sex toy.
Clem's lawyers argue that the assault, battery and other civil claims against him should be dismissed because he was performing "within the course and scope of employment." Attempts to reach Clem, who lives with his new bride in St. Petersburg, were unsuccessful. Sirius says it is not liable because Clem and his staff are independent contractors. Bubba Radio Network Inc. accuses Miller, who did not file a police report after the incident, of filing a frivolous suit merely to "further promote herself."
Clear Channel's contract may have captured the Clem Conundrum best. Though it said Clem should "refrain from any offensive or distasteful" conduct that might jeopardize the company's license or bottom line, it acknowledged that part of Clem's reputation and appeal "is the fact that (Clem) is sometimes controversial."
Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or (727)893-8751.