Barbie Basset was a TV news anchor at WLBT who had recently faced much criticism, mainly due to a racial comment she said on her show.
Who is Barbie Basset?
Barbie Basset was a meteorologist and a TV news anchor at WLBT. She graduated from Mississippi College and completed her Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications.
She then went on to receive a Master of Science degree from Mississippi State University, with a specialization in Broadcast meteorology.
She had been awarded ‘Best weathercast’ by Associated Press several times. She was the first chief meteorologist in the whole 50+ year WLBT history.
The station’s chief meteorologist was also caught in a controversy regarding her comment, referring to a black reporter’s ‘grandmammy’ on air. Though she later apologized for it.
Image Source: nypost.com
Barbie Basset quotes Snoop Dogg on air.
In the early weeks of March, Barbie Basset and 2 other news anchors hosted a show where they discussed the latest news regarding Snoop Dogg’s ‘Snoop Cali Blanc,’ which is Snoop Dogg’s fourth successful Cali Wine collection.
After the segment was completed, during her cross interview, she repeated a famous Snoop Dogg saying, ‘Fo Shizzle, My Nizzle,’ the last part being a racial slur for black people.
Since then, after March 8, she has not appeared on any of the shows for the NBC affiliate. She is also not on the station’s website anymore.
There have been mixed opinions about the sudden expulsion of the meteorologist anchor. Some people suggest that this might have been an overreaction on the station’s part to remove the anchor. But on the other hand, other people have been very critical about Basset’s comment.
Also Read: Twitter Now Worth $20 Billion, Less Than Half the Price Elon Musk Paid
No response from Barbie Basset or WLBT
There has been no response from Barbie’s side regarding her sudden termination.
Though Barbie Basset had apologized for her previous comment in relation to the black reporter, she said that it was not intentional and now understands how it could have been hurtful and insensitive. She also stated that she has apologized to Carmen Poe.
She also stated that whatever she said was not the heart of who she is; therefore, she asked for forgiveness from those she offended.
She also said she would join training to understand the history and people better. Although she admitted that she could not undo the pain she caused, she would still appreciate it if they extended grace to forgive her mistake.
