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On August 21 (Saturday), Tennessee radio host Phil Valentine passed away while suffering from COVID-19. The SuperTalk 99.7 WWTN host was skeptical about the COVID vaccine before contracting the disease.
Phil Valentine questioned the efficacy of the vaccine, and even went as far as to make a song called Vaxman, a parody of Taxman by George Harrison (The Beatles) that challenged government taxation.
Back in June, in a Facebook post, Valentine even labeled parents who had their children vaccinated as 'idiots.' He said,
"I'll just say it. If you're getting your child vaccinated in light of this new info from the CDC, you're an idiot."
The post referred to the CDC's statements about the 'likely association' between the vaccination and a rare form of heart inflammation in children.
Who was Phil Valentine?
Phil was a conservative radio host for a commercial radio channel called SuperTalk 99.7 WWTN. The 61-year old was also known for advocating and supporting protests against a proposed income tax bill by the State of Tennessee. The protests were known as the Tennessee Tax Revolt, which Phil Valentine is credited with having led.
Valentine was born on 9 September 1959 in Nashville, Tennessee, where he grew up. According to The Tennessean, the late radio host attended a broadcasting school for a year before working at radio stations in Raleigh and Greensboro. Phil Valentine returned to Tennessee in 1998 after leaving his job in Philadelphia.
The renowned Tennessee radio host also wrote three books during his lifetime. These include Right from the Heart: The ABC's of Reality in America (2003), Tax Revolt: The Rebellion Against an Overbearing, Bloated, Arrogant, and Abusive Government (2005) and The Conservative's Handbook: Defining the Right Position on Issues from A to Z (2008).
Furthermore, Phil Valentine wrote and helped produce a 2012 documentary-film, An Inconsistent Truth. The docu-film explored the scientific reasonings behind the global warming movement and who could benefit from it.
Phil had also acted in several films, like A Letter from Death Row (1998), which co-starred Martin and Charlie Sheen. He has also won multiple awards, like Achievement in Radio. The radio host was also named among the '100 most influential talk show hosts in America' list. Phil was in 32nd position on the 'Heavy Hundred' list.
On July 12, Phil confirmed that he had contracted COVID. In mid-July, the host was hospitalized.
Last year, the radio host also made a statement on his blog , where he clarified:
"I'm not an anti-vaxxer. I'm just using common sense. What are my odds of getting COVID? They're pretty low. What are my odds of dying from COVID if I do get it? Probably way less than one percent. I'm doing what everyone should do, and that's my own personal health risk assessment."
In a statement from his family, it was revealed that Phil Valentine regretted not being more pro-vaccine, and hoped to do more to advocate that people get vaccinated.
