Spider-Man

‘Oh, Who Cares?': NYC Radio Host Dismisses Stan Lee's Death

“Stan Lee? I don’t know who he is, don’t know who he is, no,” WFAN host Mike Francesca said

What to Know

  • A caller asked WFAN radio host Mike Francesca if he'd ever met Stan Lee after Lee passed away on Monday
  • Francesca responded that he didn't know who Lee was, then went on to ask, 'Who cares?' after learning Lee was a Marvel Comics co-creator
  • "Sorry. I never was a comic book reader as a kid, I apologize. Never," Francesca went on to say

A New York City radio host shocked a caller by saying he didn’t know who Stan Lee was — then shrugged off the moment, explaining he wasn’t “a comic book guy.”

Lee, the co-creator of Marvel Comics who created characters including Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, passed away on Monday at age 95.

After Lee’s passing, WFAN host Mike Francesca took a call from a man named Eddie from Hoboken, who informed Francesca that Lee had died.

“Hey Mike, Stan Lee died today,” the caller said. “Did you ever meet the guy? What do you think of him?”

A video shows Francesca looking perplexed for a moment before he responds.

“Stan Lee? I don’t know who he is, don’t know who he is, no,” Francesca says. “Who is he?”

“Jesus,” the caller says.

Someone off-camera then explains that Lee was “one of the creators of Marvel Comics.”

“Oh who cares? I’m sorry, I’m not a comic book guy,” Francesca responds. "Sorry. I never was a comic book reader as a kid, I apologize. Never.”

After the moment began to garner some outrage on social media, Francesca took to Twitter to explain himself.

“For the record, all I said when a caller brought up passing of Stan Lee was: who is he? Not familiar with his work. Never bought a comic, never have like sci fi or super heroes,” he tweeted. “Didn’t disrespect his passing.”

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