Mississippi news anchor and meteorologist Barbie Bassett was fired for quoting Snoop Dogg lyrics on air.
But it seems as though she has at least a couple of big-name supporters in her corner.
Bassett quipped the phrase in response to a Snoop-related comment made by her co-anchor following a segment on the rapper's new Cali Blanc white wine with 19 Crimes.
People also claimed Bassett had made problematic comments before which may have influenced the station's response.
Video of the incident went viral on social media.
Bassett has not appeared on air since the March 8 incident on NBC affiliate WLBT.
But on Monday, The Breakfast Club radio host Charlamagne Tha God defended Bassett, noting WLBT's former lead meteorologist and presenter may have been unaware of the meaning of her utterance which means "for sure my n-word."
He questioned:
"She can't say, 'Fo shizzle, my nizzle?'"
He then pondered before adding:
"Oh, I guess because it's a derivative of n-word."
"She might not even know what nizzle means."
He explained his stance:
"That's the thing with hip-hop. Hip-hop is so big and mainstream."
"Who can consume it, and who can't?"
"Who can repeat slang, and who can't?"
He finished by siding with Bassett:
"That's not a fireable offense."
You can watch the full clip below.
Listeners of the radio broadcast agreed with Charlamagne, some claiming they did not know the meaning of the phrase.
Additionally, Whoopi Goldberg stood up for Bassett on The View, citing:
"We don't know everything you're not supposed to do."
"There has to be a book of stuff that nobody could ever say, ever, ever, ever. Include everything."
"The things that change, 'You can say this, but you can't say that, but next week you might not be able to say this.'"
"It's hard to keep up. And if you're a person of a certain age, there's stuff we do, and we say."
Goldberg continued:
"Just because we're on television doesn't mean we know everything. We don't know everything you're not supposed to do."
"And if there is something someone says if you're not going to give them the opportunity to explain why they said it, at least give them the grace of saying, 'You know what? I've just been informed that I should not of done that,' as opposed to, 'You're out.'"
You can see the segment below.
Viewers of Golberg's take on the situation agreed Bassett was wrongfully let go.
Many also applauded Goldberg's statement about giving her the chance to explain and apologize.
The View/YouTube
The View/YouTube
The View/YouTube
The View/YouTube
The View/YouTube
The View/YouTube
WLBT has not released a statement on the matter, but Bassett is no longer included as part of the news team on the station's website.
Her professional biography has also been removed.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
