The A&E TV network yesterday suspended production of the Hawai'i-based reality show, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," after Duane "Dog" Chapman acknowledged a telephone rant in which he repeatedly used the n-word in referring to his son's African-American girlfriend.

The apology by Chapman — and A&E's decision to suspend production of his show's fifth season — came after the National Enquirer reported on a recorded conversation between Chapman and his son, Tucker, about Tucker's girlfriend, Monique Shinnery.

In the conversation, Duane Chapman said, among other things, "I'm not taking a chance on some n-----. I don't care if she's a Mexican, a whore, whatever. It's not because they're black. We use the word n----- sometimes here."

Chapman did not return messages left on his cell phone or at his Queen Emma Street bail business, Da Kine Bail Bonds. Chapman's publicist, Mona Wood, said yesterday that Chapman would not grant interviews.

He canceled all appearances, including one tonight on the new, local TV show, "NightTime With Andy Bumatai," which was to air Nov. 7, Wood said.

SERIOUS MATTER

In a statement, Michael Feeny, senior vice president of AETN Corporate Communications, said, "A&E has just learned of the story released by the National Enquirer concerning Duane Dog Chapman. We take this matter very seriously. Pending an investigation, we have suspended production on the series. When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action."

Reruns of the show were still listed on A&E's online TV schedule yesterday.

In a long statement of contrition, Chapman was quoted as saying, "My sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended in my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out in anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation. It was completely taken out of context. I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I have the utmost respect and aloha for black people — who have already suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred."

Chapman went on to cite the traditional Hawaiian practice of "ho'oponopono, where people come together to resolve crises and restore peace and balance. I am meeting with my spiritual advisor, Rev. Tim Storey, and hope to meet with other black leaders so they can see who I really am and teach me the right thing to do to make things right, again."

Wood said production of the show was already on hiatus for two months so Chapman could promote his autobiography, titled "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide." The book debuted in August as the No. 1-selling hardcover nonfiction book on the New York Times best-seller list.

Chapman was sentenced to five years in a Texas prison in 1977 after being convicted of first-degree murder but was released on probation after serving less than two years of hard labor.

INSTANT FAME

He gained national prominence in June 2003 when he captured Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who had fled to Mexico during his American trial on drug and rape charges. Chapman, his son Leland Chapman, and associate Tim Chapman (who is no relation) were charged by Mexican authorities with felony restraint because of Luster's apprehension. After being freed, they fled back to the U.S. before they could be tried.

In September 2006, the three men were arrested by U.S. marshals and jailed in Honolulu on behalf of the Mexican government. The men were freed on bail and the Mexican charges were dropped in July.

African-Americans represent less than 3 percent of Hawai'i's population. Reaction from several quarters to Chapman's comments and A&E's decision was swift yesterday.

"I'm shocked," said Alphonso Braggs, president of the Hawai'i chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "You would think that an individual who spends as much time as he does interacting with Hawai'i's diverse culture would be a lot more sensitive to the different ethnicities and how they should be appropriately addressed.

"In 2007 we cannot have high-profile individuals referring to members of our society in that way." A&E's decision to suspend the show "is an appropriate action," Braggs said.

'LEVEL OF HYPOCRISY'

Tom Brislin, professor and chairman of the University of Hawai'i's Academy for Creative Media, said it will be difficult for Chapman to survive the fallout.

Chapman's public persona, Brislin said, "is this very even-handed, even spiritual bounty hunter who wishes everyone well and wants God to embrace them. Then when you take the expression he made in this phone call, there's a certain level of hypo-crisy. Audiences and producers and others are willing to forgive many things. But hypocrisy is one of the most difficult to get over."

Chapman's comments seemed to have "vindictiveness to it," Brislin said, and could result in A&E sponsors backing away from the show.

"No one wants to be linked to anything of that level of controversy," he said.

In March, Rep. Gene Ward, R-17th (Kalama Valley, Queen's Gate, Hawai'i Kai), posed for pictures in the state Legislature and read a resolution honoring Chapman and his wife, Beth, for their community service.

Yesterday, Ward said, "my big concern was keeping Dog out of a Mexican jail and that was the extent of it. This is a doghouse he has to get himself out of."

MORE REACTIONS

Andre Wooten, past president and a founding member of the Hawai'i-based African-American Lawyers Association, has used Chapman's bail bonds company for clients.

"He and I have never had a problem and I think of him as an all-right guy," Wooten said. "But I take umbrage with the use of the n-word. I'm of the old school that it's a fighting word."

Faye Kennedy is co-chair of Hawai'i Friends of Civil Rights, a member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and a former member of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. She said, "When you make statements like this, you should be punished."

"He's a person who obviously has little education," Kennedy said. "He's not a role model. Since I don't expect much from him, it doesn't disturb me as much as it should. It is unfortunate when people feel it's necessary, even in private conversation, to use the n-word. If he loses the show, it's fine with me."

But the Rev. Dr. Dwight Cook, pastor of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Mapunapuna, where the congregation is 95 percent African-American, believes some good can come from Chapman's racial rant.

"Every person, every ethnicity, has to show honor and respect to one another," Cook said. "It is the only way that we are truly going to make this world a better place."

So Cook thinks that A&E should resume production only if it shows Chapman honestly undergoing sensitivity training.

"Old-fashioned sensitivity training is still in vogue when a word like this is used. To televise something like that could go a long way. Otherwise, I don't want to see the show continue," he said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.