
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990                   TAG: 9007120374
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE PEOPLE COLUMN

Andrew Dice Clay, defiant and tearful, tossed off criticism that his comedy is racist and sexist, telling Arsenio Hall's audience that his foul-mouthed routine is a deep expression of belief in himself.

Clay, who appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show" Tuesday to promote his new film, "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane," faced blunt questions from Hall about his brand of shock-comic routine.

Then, squaring his shoulders, Clay suddenly broke into tears as he faced the studio audience.

He said his routine was the product of long, hard work to discover what is funny and true.

"If you want to be a doctor, or if you want to be a lawyer, you don't listen to nobody and you believe in yourself. That's what it's all about," he declared, his voice cracking with emotion.

Clay is known for expletive-laden routines that contain vulgar references to women, homosexuals and minorities. He said his put-down style is "just a joke."

\ Chuck D., lead singer of the rap group Public Enemy, says white critics who complain about the militant tone of his new album, "Fear of a Black Planet," are just the people who should be listening to it.

"Whites aren't educated about racism because they've benefited from it," he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune before an appearance this week.

" `Fear of a Black Planet' is like feeding baby food to babies - whites are babies when it comes to racism and they won't study it unless it hits them in the face daily," he said.

\ Madonna led the field for the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards with eight nominations for "Vogue," which has her prancing in glamour magazine style. Heavy metal rockers Aerosmith got seven nominations for "Janie's Got a Gun," and dance queen Paula Abdul received six for "Opposites Attract."

Don Henley's "The End of the Innocence" and Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares to U" are up against Madonna and Aerosmith in the video-of-the-year category, one of 21 awards to be doled out Sept. 6 in a ceremony broadcast live from the Universal Amphitheatre. The nominations were announced Tuesday.

by CNB