I listen to a lot of radio. Of course I like Top 40 radio, because who doesn’t enjoy riding around with their windows down, blasting “Shake It Off” and singing along? While this may be fun, when given a choice of what station to listen to, I usually defect to a local alternative station, 96.5 The Buzz. I not only love the music The Buzz plays, but also the station’s humor. The best source of that humor, at least in my opinion, is the morning show, Afentra’s Big Fat Morning Buzz.

Recently, Afentra’s Big Fat Morning Buzz has sparked some controversy. The show’s co-hosts, Afentra (Afentra Bandokoudis) and Danny Boi (Daniel Terreros) were trying to compile a list of Kansas City-area porn stars on the morning show on Sunday, April 22, 2012. After getting two different texts about someone named Ashley Patton, Danny Boi Googled her name and found an Ashley Payton who was involved in pornography. However, he identified her on air as Ashley Patton, and later included her in a list on the station’s website. After multiple contacts from Patton, the list and podcast of that day’s show were taken down. Patton later sued The Buzz’s parent company, Entercom Kansas City, for damages related to mental suffering, shame and humiliation. Entercom lost the suit in Friday’s verdict, and Patton was in turn awarded $1 million.

So, the question many fans have been asking is simple – was the mistake really worth $1 million? I, for one, say no. People make mistakes all the time, even those in the public eye. While Danny Boi may have misread a Google search, he didn’t do it maliciously. The station realized its mistake, and they made that apparent through taking down the list and podcast of the show on the same day of the mistake. Clearly, it did not intend to cause Patton any harm.

At the same time, The Buzz could have been a bit more sympathetic to Patton. Nobody wants to be wrongfully called anything, especially a porn star. A simple on-air apology or a statement from the station would have been nice, and cleared up any confusion about Patton’s involvement in the pornography industry. While Patton did have reason to be angry at the station, she didn’t have to make her anger worth $1 million.

Nonetheless, I’m glad The Buzz is turning this into a positive situation. Fans of the station trended #SupportAfentra and #SupportDannyBoi on Twitter, and one fan even started a campaign to raise the $1 million for Entercom. Upon realizing they shoudn’t take the money for their plight (and couldn’t), Afentra suggested a $1 million fundraiser for Hope House, a local domestic abuse shelter. As of today, it has raised almost $9,000. The station has even been saying it’s the only Kansas City radio station to give away $1 million (which, in a way, is true).

After all of this, I’m still supportive of The Buzz. I tuned in to listen to Afentra and Danny Boi Monday morning after their leave last week, and I’ll continue to listen to them. One mistake shouldn’t define anyone or anything, especially the seemingly-cool group of people that makes up The Buzz.