White Mississippi newscaster is taken off the air for using Snoop Dogg’s handwriting which uses a variation of the N-word
- Barbie Bassett has not been seen on the air since March 8 on news station WLBT
- The vice president and general manager of the station issued a statement
- In October 2022, Bassett apologized for an offensive comment to her co-host.
A longtime Mississippi news anchor appears to be no longer employed with the WLBT news team after quoting a lyric by Snoop Dogg deemed racially insensitive during an on-air broadcast.
Barbie Bassett, a popular anchor and the station’s first chief meteorologist in its more than 50-year history, has not been seen on the NBC affiliate since the March 8 incident. Her biography no longer appears on the company’s website. The Clarion Ledger informed.
Bassett’s last comment was during a segment discussing Snoop Dogg’s wine company, Cali Wine Collection, and the launch of its Snoop Cali Blanc variety.
Before the broadcast ended, Bassett, who is white, repeated some famous Snoop slang that went, “Fo shizzle, my (epithet).”
The racial epithet referred to one for blacks, the news outlet reported.
Morning news anchor Barbie Bassett is seen with her co-anchors during the on-air broadcast. Bassett has not been seen on the air since the March 8 incident after making the racially insensitive comment.
Bassett is seen speaking to viewers on March 8 in what appears to be his final broadcast during a ‘What’s Happening Wednesday’ Facebook Live segment.
The former beauty pageant queen had been cited in October 2022 for making a racially insensitive comment to a fellow co-host for which she apologized late.
His most recent comment comes just four months after he referred to his co-host, Cameron Poe’s grandmother, as “grandmother,” a term slaves used for their grandmothers. Poe is African American.
At the time, Basset apologized to viewers and his co-workers for the offensive comment during the October 2022 broadcast, calling it “insensitive and hurtful” and said he would participate in training to “better understand our history and our people.” “. ‘
After the firestorm, WLBT Vice President and General Manager Ted Fortenberry released a statement on social media: “As I’m sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters.”
When contacted by DailyMail.com for comment, an on-air employee declined, directing all questions to Gray Media, the news organization that owns WLTB.
Bassett has not made a public statement on the matter since the incident.
But he issued an apology after the October on-air debacle.
‘Last Friday on our ‘Today at 11’ newscast, I used a term that was offensive to many in our audience and to my co-workers here at WLBT.
“Although it was not intentional, I now understand how my comment was insensitive and hurtful. 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 your forgiveness and I apologize to everyone I have offended.
‘I will learn from this and participate in training so that I can better understand our history and our people.
‘I can’t repair the damage my comment caused. I beg you to forgive me and extend your grace through this terrible mistake.
Bassett’s Facebook page removed any reference to the news station WLBT, according to Saturday morning.
On March 24, Phillip Lewis, a senior editor at the Huffington Post, posted the news on Twitter which garnered 1.9 million views.
Phillip Lews, a senior editor at the Huffington Post, posted the Bassett news on his Twitter, which garnered nearly 2 million views.
“My man at the end…wearing the blue suit knew it was a wrap for her,” one person wrote.
Another commented: “This isn’t the first time she’s made a ‘mistake’ like this so I bet that’s why she’s not there anymore.” He used to work at News at MS. She was there for decades and people have complained about her before.
