Mississippi morning news anchor Barbie Bassett is making headlines as there has been no sign of her after she uttered a Snoop Dogg phrase on air earlier this month with the video now viral
Barbie hasn’t appeared on NBC affiliate WLBT since March 8, when her team was discussing the rapper’s new wine line.
When the idea of Snoop working with a newsroom journalist was brought up, Bassett replied, “Fo shizzle, my nizzle.” (“Nizzle” is an abbreviation for the N-word.)
Bassett, the station’s chief meteorologist and anchor, has previously sparked controversy by referring to a black reporter’s “grandmammy” on air. She later expressed regret.
Mississippi news anchor Barbie Bassett fired after using Snoop Dogg lyrics on live TV, video goes viral
Mississippi news anchor Barbie Basset fired for saying “Fo Shizzle My Nizzle” live on air when discussing Snoop Dog new wine collection. She has been a news anchor at the company for over 20 years. 👀😳
pic.twitter.com/zWBAOlvHyk— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) March 25, 2023
According to the Clarion Ledger, she is no longer listed on the station’s website. And Bassett hasn’t tweeted anything since the same day, including this weekend, when a deadly tornado struck Mississippi, sparking widespread concern among meteorologists.
The New York Post reports on the story, but no comment has been received from Bassett, WLBT, or Snoop Dogg. It quotes Ted Fortenberry, the station’s regional vice president, as saying:
“As you can imagine, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters.”
She further said, “Though not on purpose, I now see how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful. “I apologized to Carmen Poe.”
“I’d like to apologize to you now. That is not who I am at my core. And for that, I beg your pardon and 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,” she added. I can’t make up for the pain my comment caused. I hope you will forgive me and extend grace to me despite this terrible mistake.”
Her latest gaffe drew the attention of Charlamagne tha God, who defended her on the radio this week.
On “The Breakfast Club,” he said, “I don’t think she should have been fired for that.”
Some social media users defended Bassett, while others said it was inappropriate for a white woman to say that phrase.
Bassett graduated from Mississippi College in 1993 and went on to earn a Master of Science degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University, according to her online resume.
“Barbie Bassett’s story is Mississippi’s story in many ways,” then-Gov. Haley Barbour said of Bassett, who has three children, Grace, Will Christian, and Lilly Faith, in 2010.
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