Rush Limbaugh: I Wasn't Mocking Japan's Refugees

Rush Limbaugh says he's no Gilbert Gottfried and that his critics are off base in accusing him of laughing at victims of Japan's earthquake. On today's show, he says he was ridiculing a Diane Sawyer news report about the refugees—not the refugees themselves—because of its focus on how they were recycling, reports Mediaite. "I did make fun of Diane Sawyer," he says, "but not the Japanese people."

The trouble began Tuesday after Limbaugh played the Sawyer clip and a caller said it was ironic that the environmentally friendly country got hit with a such a huge natural disaster. Limbaugh ran with it: "They've given us the Prius. Even now, refugees are recycling their garbage," he said. "And yet, Gaia levels them! Just wipes them out!" Today, Limbaugh explained: "I don't think that's making fun of the Japanese people, I think that's cramming it down the throats of the liberals." (The audio is in the gallery.)