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A White Mississippi meteorologist has been taken off air after saying “fo shizzle, my nizzle” during a live TV broadcast.
Barbie Bassett, a news anchor and meteorologist for WLBT in Mississippi, has been taken off air after repeating a popular phrase made most famous by Snoop Dogg.
The 20-year news veteran was speaking to her colleagues about Snoop Dogg when she uttered the phrase during a live broadcast.
Bassett’s colleague, who is Black, looked visibly shocked after hearing the comment while Bassett seemed unaware of what she had just said.
The term “fo shizzle, my nizzle” has been made popular by rapper Snoop Dogg in the early 2000’s. It’s a bastardization for “for sure, my n*gga.”
It appears Bassett wasn’t aware of the cultural meaning of the term she said, and many came to her defense online saying she should not have been taken off air for the term.
“As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters,” Ted Fortenberry, the station’s regional vice president and general manager, said in a message via social media.
Bassett has not appeared on WLBT since March 8 and has removed any mention of WLBT from her Facebook page. The network has also removed her bio from the ‘meet the team’ section of their website.
Bassett has not made any public statements regarding the on-air statement.
History of Racial Controversy
This isn’t the first time comments made by Bassett during a live broadcast have landed her in the middle of controversy.
Back in October 2022, Bassett was speaking to a Black field reporter and referenced her “grandmammy” on air.
Bassett issued an apology on air following the controversy and vowed to learn from her mistake.
“Last Friday on our newscast ‘Today at 11’, I used a term that was offensive to many in our audience and to my coworkers here at WLBT,” Bassett said. “Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both 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 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.”
What do you think? Should Bassett have been fired for what she said if she was not aware of the meaning?
Nothing big story.
Time to outlaw saying “The N Word” because it means something else.
Imagine if we could get past middle school age emotional maturity. Maybe stop hunting for petty reasons to be injustice collectors.