By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Porsche Foxx, after a nearly eight-year absence from Atlanta radio, is back to "rock the box," courtesy of Old School 87.7.
The former V-103 host will return on Thursday, July 14 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"She has some name recognition," said Steve Hegwood, owner of Old School 87.7 and Streetz 94.5. "She had incredible community contacts when she was here. She did a great job at WVEE."
Foxx - who's real name is Stephanie Calhoun - was a popular, relatable host on the number one station in town from 1998 to 2004. She built a large fan base. "Let your haters be your motivators" was one of her favorite sayings. That year, she was arrested for a DUI and marijuana possession in December 2004.
She initially denied to the AJC she did anything wrong but was subsequently fired by V-103 in February 2005. (Her departure ultimately paved the way for Ryan Cameron to return to V-103 from Hot 107.9)
To make matters worse, her house burned down soon after in what was deemed an accident. “I went through more tragic things in 30 days than I think I have in 30 years,” she said in 2007 at a press conference.
Foxx later pled guilty to her DUI charges, agreeing to rehab, a fine and a three-year probation. She laid low for awhile, then announced her return in 2007. On V-103, she showed penance, saying she learned a lot, was drug and alcohol free and planned to work hard again on community-service projects. "Not only did I rebuild my house, I rebuilt me," she said at the time.
But in 2008, V-103 quietly let her go again without a clear explanation. In a brief interview in January, 2009, she told me she left V-103 amicably, that it had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. Multiple sources at the time said she had failed a drug test and had relapsed.
She did say to me at the time that she discovered a lump in her left breast three weeks before she left V-103. She said she lacked "support" from the station management. That's all she would say why she left her job seven months before her two-year contract was over. "I want to keep it positive, " she said at the time.
In 2014, she suffered from a painful bone infection.
“I literally woke up and I couldn’t walk,” Foxx said in a 2014 interview. She said her doctors have no explanation how it happens. “The good news is I’m healing. I’m improving on a walker. I’m on my way back.”
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