Comedian and new Don Imus sidekick Karith Foster spoke to Essence.com about her new gig with the guy who pissed off Black America this year.

Describing Imus: He is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He does have the grumpy old man demeanor. I’m not saying that is not who he is. That is definitely part of who he is. But he is definitely a very kind, gentle person. I’ve been in the comedy business for about ten years, and you (develop) a gauge for people; you can tell who is BSing you after the show. This man was truly, genuinely sincere and regretful for the hurt that he caused people. In that conversation he said he always made it a policy not to make fun of celebrities’ children or public figures and so forth because that’s not fair. And that (his comment) was wrong.

On the “nappy-headed ho” controversy: Listening to it and having heard the actual recording of the nappy-headed hos (incident), it was so obvious it wasn’t malicious. He was an old White guy trying to be young and hip and use the modern vernacular. And it wasn’t funny.

On being called a “sellout”:  I weighed that and thought about that. What outweighed that is when I thought about what good I can do. If people would call me a sellout, I’d have to say they don’t know me at all, and I am sorry they feel that way. I would hope and prefer they would see this as an opportunity to have a form of representation where there previously was none.

Do her comments make you rethink your opinions about Imus?

Of all the (mostly vile) names Don Imus has been called in 2007, some might not think ”Man of the Year” would ever be attributed to this man. But King magazine does, and crowned the infamous shock jock so in their Year-End Issue on stands Nov. 27.

“It took only three words from one mouth to ignite a firestorm of debate and a full-blown incursion into hip-hop. For having such impact, Mr. Don Imus—the original radio bad boy—is our Man of the Year,” reports the mag’s web site.

What do you think? Should Imus be put on a pedestal for stirring up a conversation or are the editors of King on crack?