A Mississippi news anchor appears to have been taken off air after making racially insensitive comments by quoting rapper Snoop Dogg.
Long-time WLBT journalist and meteorologist Barbie Bassett, who is white, made the remarks during a broadcast earlier this month while discussing Snoop Dogg's latest business venture, Snoop Cali Blanc, with her co-anchors, according to the Clarion Ledger. After the news portion of the segment, Bassett repeated a famous Snoop Dogg saying that uses slang for the n-word.
Bassett has not appeared on WLBT since March 8, the Clarion Ledger reported, noting that she has also removed mention of the channel from her social media accounts. The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God has since spoken out in defense of Bassett.
"That's not a reason to fire that woman," he said, according to the Daily Mail. "That's the thing with hip hop, man. Hip-hop is so big and so mainstream and it's just like, who can consume it and who can't?"
Charlamagne said there were many reasons why Bassett could have used the word. "She might be old," he said, adding that she probably didn't know what the word actually meant.
DJ Envy was also quick to defend Bassett, adding that she was probably a "fan of Snoop Dogg," the Daily Mail noted.
This is not the first instance where Bassett has had to apologize for a racial comment. In October 2022 she faced backlash after calling her Black colleague Carmen Poe's grandmother a "grandmammy" live on air, according to Vibe. Bassett later issued an apology.
"Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful," she said, according to Vibe. "I have apologized to Carmen Poe. Now, I would like to apologize to you. That is not the heart of who I am.
"And for that, I humbly ask for your forgiveness and I apologize to everyone I have offended. I will learn from this and participate in training so I can better understand our history and our people. I can't mend the hurt my comment caused. I pray you'll forgive me and that you'll extend grace through this awful mistake."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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