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Sean "Diddy" Combs made waves earlier this week when he made a case for why he should be the next owner of the Carolina Panthers.
But two San Fransisco-area newscasters are coming under fire for comments they made regarding Combs' video announcement that he was in the market for an NFL team.
The upsetting comments started during a Monday morning KRON-TV sports segment called "The World According to Darya" when anchor Darya Folsom doubted that the music mogul could afford the Panthers, saying, "The problem is—I checked—Diddy is only worth $800 million and the Panthers are valued at $1 billion."
.@diddy wants to buy the Panthers & is already making guarantees if he were to become the new owner 🔥👀 https://t.co/UYNtSJdJ32— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1513566258.0
Sports reporter Henry Woffard added his two cents, joking that the music mogul couldn't possibly be taken seriously.
But things took a turn when Woffard commented on Combs' appearance, saying, "The guy looks high right there in this video. He looks like he smoked a blunt and drank a 40. Come on, I’m not taking him seriously."
Folsom laughed throughout Woffard's comments, adding, "I don’t even know what Diddy does right now. What does Diddy do?"
"Diddy’s drinking and smoking right now. The man was in another world," Woffard responds.
The offensive comments quickly made the rounds on Twitter, and many found them to be not only upsetting for perpetuating racist stereotypes, but also because Woffard himself is also black:
@DaryaKRONFolsom Racism and Stereotyping is exactly why we must continue to make big moves like the one Diddy is tr… https://t.co/FVHhcalcq5— Saint Thomas (@Saint Thomas) 1513636219.0
@themvpsaint @DaryaKRONFolsom It's much easier to use a black face to say what white folks truly think about black… https://t.co/rNkV06A3Yg— donalddoejr (@donalddoejr) 1513694101.0
Dear @kron4news, Darya Folsom & caller segment about Sean Combs @Diddy wanting to purchase NFL @Panthers was not funny, it was racist.— Bee Johnson (@Bee Johnson) 1513632696.0
@DaryaKRONFolsom You see a black mogul modeling his own brand and you think of smoking "blunts" and "drinking 40's"?!— Treena Beena (@Treena Beena) 1513628520.0
@DaryaKRONFolsom Proudly expressing stereotypes, during a live broadcast, is hardly a good idea.... #sharingIScaring— Da_Skeptunes (@Da_Skeptunes) 1513627909.0
Many called for Woffard and Folsom's firings:
@themvpsaint @DaryaKRONFolsom - Henry Wofford should be removed from the chair until he can treat all stories fairly.— Cornelia Hicks (@Cornelia Hicks) 1513698009.0
@themvpsaint @DaryaKRONFolsom She's ignorant. I can give her a pass. She probably doesn't even know who Diddy is or… https://t.co/7t5fPkUtNf— donalddoejr (@donalddoejr) 1513693989.0
It would appear that both Wofford and Folsom have since deleted their Twitter accounts, but not before Wofford tweeted out: "Diddy is a businessman who has the work ethic, success & contacts to run an NFL team. My response to @DaryaKRONFolsom question was regarding if he's serious about buying the team. She laughed at my joke. The snippet takes things out of context. Sorry for any misunderstanding."
He also made a statement on KRON on Tuesday, saying in part, "Dozens of Diddy’s Twitter followers have accused me of playing on racial stereotypes. That was not my goal. But I understand my comments had that impact and for that I sincerely apologize. Dozens of Diddy’s Twitter followers have accused me of playing on racial stereotypes. That was not my goal. But I understand my comments had that impact and for that I sincerely apologize."
Hmm...#KRON reporter apologizes for his comments regarding P Diddy's mention of buying the Panthers yesterday. THOU… https://t.co/7C7Kdbhtih— HOT 97 (@HOT 97) 1513710546.0
He also lamented that fact that Folsom (who had an apology posted to the KRON website) was getting a lot of backlash for her part in all of it, saying, "The negative feedback she’s receiving is unfortunate because Darya is a very professional journalist and I would never want to see anyone blamed for something I said."
Here's the weak apology @DaryaKRONFolsom published this morning on the @kron4news website. I see her Twitter has "m… https://t.co/NQ7YUJjmTI— Inemesit The Great (@Inemesit The Great) 1513704521.0
Wofford promised viewers he "will learn from this mistake."
But for many, it was too little, too late:
@HOT97 Boy bye he knew exactly what he said lets be real he actually said it twice foh , he only saying sorry becau… https://t.co/47wIPmhwN7— K.Noel (@K.Noel) 1513716707.0
@HOT97 Nah I don’t accept the apology. You a brother, you should know better— RAPHAEL 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹 (@RAPHAEL 🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹) 1513711218.0
@HOT97 For a second when I watched that clip I thought it was a white dude but for the fact that it was actually a… https://t.co/vCN4i5gmH1— £LUQU€NC¥ (@£LUQU€NC¥) 1513716461.0
@HOT97 Not accepted https://t.co/mcT8X9fjv0— ultralightbeams 🌓🌎🌞 (@ultralightbeams 🌓🌎🌞) 1513714766.0
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