Article content continued

The [Roma] are “a culture synonymous with swindlers. The phrase ‘gypsy’ and ‘cheater’ have been so interchangeable historically that the word has been entered into the English language as a verb: he gypped me,” Levant said on his show, The Source, last September after news reports surfaced about a crime ring of Romanian immigrants working in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Well, the gypsies have gypped us. Too many have come here as false refugees.”

Levant repeatedly referred to the Roma as “gypsies” in the segment, which was entitled “The Jews verses the gypsies.”

On Monday, Levant referred to the September segment as “for the most part . . . a pretty good rant” but said looking back, he now sees that he “attacked a particular group, and painted them all with the same brush.

“And to those I hurt, I’m sorry. But as someone who seeks to influence the public debate, I have to think about the words I choose. It’s just wrong to slur a group of people. I made the moral mistake of judging people collectively.”

Levant gave little indication on why he issued the voluntary apology some six months later, which comes amid Suns News’ hopes for the CRTC to grant them status as a mandatory carriage TV station.

Levant also spoke with Sun News Network vice-president Kory Teneycke (Steven Harper’s former mouthpiece) after his apology, in which the executive seemed a fist short of giving the host a rap on the knuckles.

“We’ve been friends for just about 20 years,” Teneycke said of his employee Levant. “One thing I know for sure, Ezra, is that you are somebody who has a kind heart. You are actually quite a happy warrior, even your opponents would be surprised. But you crossed the line on this one, and I don’t think it [was] done for any reason of malice or with any ill-motivation at heart.