EXCLUSIVE: Ted Turner's Nazi Shame Laid Bare — How Late Cable Kingpin Was Tossed From College Over Swastika Stunt
Ted Turner's Nazi shame resurfaced after his college expulsion over a swastika stunt.
May 28 2026, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Media mogul Ted Turner took a Nazi secret to his grave, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The CNN founder – who died at age 87 on May 6 – was booted out of college for painting swastikas on Jewish students' doors.
Ted Turner’s Ugly Past Resurfaces
Biographer Porter Bibb claimed Ted Turner was expelled from Brown University for painting swastikas on Jewish students' dorm doors.
Known as The Mouth of the South for its outspokenness, Turner made public enemies over the years for taking wild potshots at Jews and religion.
Porter Bibb, author of the biography Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy As It Looks, reported how the future billionaire taunted Jews in college.
According to Bibb, who died in 2025, Turner got thrown out of Brown University for painting swastikas on the dorm room doors of Jewish students.
Turner also wore a Ku Klux Klan mask and robe, although he wasn't anti-Black, Bibb said.
Reporter Neal Travis witnessed skilled yachtsman Turner's bad taste while covering the America's Cup sailing races decades ago.
"Turner was a total embarrassment to the yachting establishment with his crude anti-Jewish jokes," said Travis, who died in 2002.
"They offered to drag him out of post-race press conferences for fear of what he would say."
Ted Turner’s Remarks Sparked Massive Backlash
Reporter Neal Travis said Turner's anti-Jewish jokes embarrassed the America's Cup yachting establishment.
In the late '80s and early '90s, Turner called Christianity "a religion for losers" and the Ten Commandments outdated.
In response to outrage over his comments, Turner turned the services at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., into a media event where he apologized to the congregation.
Months after the September 11 attacks, Turner was reviled for telling an audience at Brown University that the 19 terrorists responsible "were very brave at the least."
Ted Turner Slammed Over Israel Comments
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Turner later apologized after calling Christianity 'a religion for losers' and criticizing the Ten Commandments.
In yet another disgusting attack of foot-in-mouth disease, Turner told a reporter for London's Guardian newspaper: "Right now aren't the Israelis and the Palestinians both terrorizing each other?
"The Palestinians are fighting with suicide bombers. The Israelis ... they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. So both sides are involved in terrorism."
The interview hit newsstands the same day 20 people in Israel died in a Palestinian suicide bombing.
Turner backpedaled ASAP, saying in a prepared statement: "I regret any implication that I believe the actions taken by Israel to protect its people are equal to terrorism."
