Rush Limbaugh's name is synonymous with controversy. For better or for worse, it's impossible to
deny the profound mark he has left on American politics. No matter what you think about Limbaugh,
the conservative radio host has had a long and notorious career. Here is his untold truth.
Rush Limbaugh has had a wild ride. We know him as the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show,
but he has had many other adventures along the way. He started working in radio at age
16, spending mornings and afternoons at the local radio station. Limbaugh wanted to pursue
a career in radio but was fired from three different radio stations before getting the
gig at KFBK in Sacramento that shot him to stardom.
Since then, he's been a force on conservative talk radio, branching out into many other
media opportunities and becoming a millionaire many times over. He has written several books,
five of which are part of a series for young readers. He's influential in politics, with
Pat Buchanan having claimed during the 1992 Presidential campaign that Limbaugh's on-air
support was a big help to his primary campaign.
The radio host had a great gig on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown show but resigned after making
racially-charged comments that were deemed "insensitive and inappropriate" about Philadelphia
Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb.
In 2007, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2010, he was a judge at the
Miss America pageant. How's that for an eclectic mix of activities?
While the Republican Party focused on economic policy in the 1980s, Limbaugh spoke of populism,
ridiculing the "isms" plaguing American society: things like feminism and racism — and listeners
couldn't get enough.
What Limbaugh offered was something new in the media landscape, which is a rare opportunity
in the news industry. In his book Talk Radio's America: How an Industry Took Over a Political
Party That Took Over the United States, author Brian Rosenwald wrote about Limbaugh's immensely
influential rise. When Limbaugh first graced the airwaves, Rosenwald wrote, quote, "talk
radio was not a partisan force, and it had no role in national politics." Limbaugh changed
all of that.
"There were things that nobody had ever seen or heard, and people had to tune in every
day because they never knew what he was going to say."
Limbaugh's rise to notoriety had everything to do with timing. Republicans had regained
political steam with Reagan's popularity, AM radio needed a new hook to lure listeners,
and the Federal Communications Commission's "fairness doctrine," which required media
outlets to represent multiple viewpoints on controversial issues, was abolished.
Enter Limbaugh, and his firebrand of combative, over-the-top infotainment.
One of the great ironies of this shock-jock's profound impact on American media is that
the FCC's removal of the "fair and balanced" requirement opened the door to his openly-partisan
rhetoric. That rhetoric created a demand for additional conservative media outlets, which
opened the door for Fox News, which used the very requirement the FCC struck from the rule
books, "Fair and Balanced," as its slogan. Limbaugh's beliefs seeped into American political
discourse and widened the chasm between conservative media and mainstream media outlets, which
many conservatives now deem "fake news."
Ronald Reagan first used the term "elite" in a pejorative manner during a 1964 speech,
"A Time for Choosing." He said,
"This is the issue of this election: whether we believe in our capacity for self-government
or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite
in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves."
Various conservative pundits and politicians have used different combinations of words
with "elite" in the years since Reagan's speech, but Rush Limbaugh — again thanks to his
joining the media landscape at the right time — further popularized the term "liberal
elite" and gave it wings by introducing it to his ever-growing audience. Perhaps being
a college dropout gave him some added street cred in this realm.
The New York Times Magazine reported that the use of the term "liberal elite" has been
a favorite term of the American right wing since Limbaugh's career took flight in the
late 80s. He consistently uses the term to create an us vs. them dynamic between his
American audience and the people in power supposedly keeping them down.
Limbaugh says Democratic party leaders are out of touch with the needs of "real Americans."
Is it an effective message? If it weren't, Donald Trump would likely have lost the 2016
Presidential election. The Guardian reports it was the perceived smugness of liberal elites,
especially those in the media, that helped to push voters to Trump in a big way in 2016.
Rush Limbaugh stunned fans when he revealed in October 2003 that he had been addicted
to prescription painkillers for many years. The announcement came after Limbaugh's former
housekeeper went public with details of his illegal activity "after a promise of immunity,"
per Deseret News. Limbaugh entered a five-week inpatient rehabilitation program for his addiction,
which began following back surgery, and he continued to receive outpatient treatment
after returning to work.
A criminal investigation resulted in charges being filed against him in 2006 for "doctor
shopping," which means visiting more than one doctor to deceptively obtain multiple
prescriptions for opioids or other addictive medications. CBS News reports that he was
prescribed 2,000 painkillers in six months from four doctors — all filled at the same
pharmacy. Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge if the radio host agreed to continue treatment.
Limbaugh had previously voiced disdain for drug use, saying on his show in 1995,
"There's nothing good about drug use. We know it. It destroys individuals. It destroys families.
Drug use destroys societies ... we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods,
which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they
ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up."
One might think this experience would teach Limbaugh the lesson, "Judge not, lest ye be
judged." But this is Rush Limbaugh we're talking about; being judgmental is kind of his whole
brand.
Rush Limbaugh revealed to his listeners in 2001 that he had experienced rapid hearing
loss and gone almost completely deaf in a matter of about five months. Doctors soon
announced they had diagnosed him with autoimmune inner ear disease, or AIED, which damaged
both of his ears.
AIED happens when the body's immune system mistakes normal ear tissue for something harmful,
like a virus, and has an inflammatory reaction that ends up damaging the ear. There was public
speculation that his addiction to painkillers had caused the hearing loss. According to
Salon, Limbaugh's doctors maintained the cause of the hearing loss was AIED, though a UCLA
neurotologist did note that painkiller-related hearing loss can present like AIED and be
mistaken for it if the patient does not admit to drug use.
After losing his hearing, CBS News reported that Limbaugh made use of an elaborate system
of monitors and transcribers at his South Florida studio in order to read along with
what people who called into the show were saying. But all hope was not lost. The shock-jock
received his first cochlear implant in his left ear in December 2001. He later received
a second state-of-the-art cochlear implant in his right ear in 2014.
Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke's testimony before a Congressional committee
in February 2012 about her school's "conscience clause," which prevents Georgetown's health
insurance plan for students and employees from covering oral contraceptives.
Within days, Rush Limbaugh inserted himself into the story, insinuating Fluke had shared
her own personal experiences when testifying, which was not true. Limbaugh said that Fluke,
quote, "essentially says she must be paid to have sex — what does that make her?"
"It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have
sex."
Limbaugh went even further two days later, delivering one of his most notorious and distasteful
quotes yet. Addressing Fluke and what he called "the rest of you feminazis," Limbaugh said
on his program, quote, "If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay
for you to have sex, we want something for it."
"And I'll tell you what it is. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."
These comments ruffled so many feathers that it was a catalyst for many women to embark
upon women's rights activism. Limbaugh eventually posted an apology on his website reading,
in part,
"My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a
national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."
Despite the public mea culpa, Fluke wasn't having any of what he was selling and rejected
the apology during an appearance on The View.
"I don't think that a statement like this, issued saying that his choice of words was
not the best, changes anything."
Much of the public pressure that precipitated Rush Limbaugh's apology to Sandra Fluke and
his "feminazis" tirade came in the way of advertiser boycotts.
Limbaugh was one of the first public figures to get the full-throttle social media boycott-slash-cancel
culture treatment, which was becoming increasingly effective at the time as social media grew
to be a part of everyday life.
As Advertising Age columnist Simon Dumenco told BBC News at the time,
"This social media uprising and direct messaging to [Limbaugh's] advertisers I think tipped
the scale in terms of him deciding to make one of his rare apologies. Social media has
extended the momentum of the story."
While coordinated efforts to persuade Limbaugh's advertisers to jump ship were successful,
he remained the number one syndicated radio talk show in America, and many advertisers
wanted to reach his audience of millions of listeners per month. For that reason, the
attempts to run Limbaugh off the air were ultimately unsuccessful.
If counting money isn't one of Rush Limbaugh's hobbies, he's seriously missing out.
Forbes ranks him as #11 on their list of the World's Highest-Paid Celebrities, with an
$85 million annual salary. He was the world's highest-paid radio host from 2008-2018, per
Fox Business, but he was bested in 2018 by Howard Stern and is now #2.
In 2008, Limbaugh signed an out-of-this-world contract with radio giant iHeartMedia, then
known as Clear Channel Communications, which amounted to $400 million over eight years.
He extended the contract for an additional four years in 2016 and re-upped again at the
beginning of 2020.
On the holdings side of things, Celebrity Net Worth says Limbaugh is worth a whopping
$600 million, which includes a $26 million home on the water in West Palm Beach, Florida.
His sprawling estate features a garage full of sports cars and a private jet.
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