In his first public comments since the release of a recorded conversation in which he used the n-word repeatedly, TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman acknowledged he often used the slur among friends, but added that he will never use it again.

"I've used the word for a long time. I thought that I was cool enough in the black world to be able to use that word ... but I'm not. That word means something else that now I understand," Chapman said, speaking on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" show last night.

"There's no excuse. I'm guilty and I will take my punishment. I will do everything there is in my power to make sure people have forgiven me. I am so sorry — I will not stop until they say Dog has been forgiven."

During the hourlong interview, in which Chapman cried several times, he also apologized to "all black people in America" and to his fans.

"This is one of the hardest lessons I've ever learned," Chapman said, adding at another point that "I never realized that's like stabbing a black person in the heart."

The apology stems from a recorded phone conversation released last week, in which Chapman repeatedly uses the n-word in referring to his son Tucker's black girlfriend. In the conversation with his son, Chapman said, among other things, "I'm not taking a chance on some n-----. I don't care if she's a Mexican, a whore, whatever. It's not because they're black."

GOING PUBLIC

The tape spurred outrage among blacks and others, locally and nationally. On Friday, the A&E TV Network suspended production of Chapman's hit series, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," which is filmed in Hawai'i and centers around his business, Da Kine Bail Bonds.

Before the interview last night, Chapman had declined all media requests for comment and canceled appearances to promote his book, "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide," which debuted in August at the top of the New York Times best-seller list for nonfiction.

Mona Wood, a spokeswoman for Chapman, said the bounty hunter will appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" tonight. While in Los Angeles for the interviews, Chapman also will meet with leaders of various organizations to talk about his comments, she said in an e-mail.

"Dog felt he needed to make some kind of public statement," Wood said in a statement to the media yesterday.

"After those, he will be working behind the scenes with black leaders."

Chapman gained national attention in 2003 when he captured Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who had fled to Mexico during his U.S. trial on drug and rape charges.

TV CAREER CLOUDED

In the interview yesterday, Chapman said he had been warned on several occasions by friends and colleagues not to use the n-word, but had ignored the advice. "I've been warned. It's not that I haven't been warned," he said.

He also said he believes he will "never be forgiven as long as I'm alive ... for this incident."

As for his show, Chapman said he is not sure whether it will ever be back on the air — and he's not sure if he wants to continue the project.

"Do you want your ... job back?" Sean Hannity asked.

"I don't know," Chapman replied.

During the show, Chapman's spiritual adviser, the Rev. Tim Storey, talked about his reaction to the recorded conversation. Storey, who is black, said he was angry at Chapman for using the n-word, but does not believe the bounty hunter is a racist.

"He's rough around the edges. He's not a racist," Storey said.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.