An American morning news anchor has been laid off after saying a popular Snoop Dogg’s catch phrase on air.
Barbie Bassett of NBC affiliate, WLBT in Mississippi is no longer listed as a member of the news team on the station’s website.
The news team was discussing the latest addition to Snoop Dogg’s Cali wine a co-anchor asked if there could be a collaboration between Dogg and a newsroom journalist.
Bassett quipped, “Fo shizzle, my nizzle,” meaning, for sure, my friend.
“Nizzle” is slang for the N-word. Bassett, who is white, also tweeted the phrase in 2011.
Basset was previously in trouble for her on-air remarks.
The Mississippi native apologized in October 2022 after referencing a black reporter’s “grandmammy” on air.
“Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful. I have apologized to Carmen Poe,” Bassett said about her colleague.
“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.”
She continued: “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.”
The Mississippi native boasts being the first chief meteorologist of WLBT.
Her latest slip-up drew the attention of Charlamagne tha God, who defended her this week on the radio.
“I don’t think she should have been fired for that,” he said on “The Breakfast Club.” “She might not even know what ‘nizzle’ means, yo. Come on, like stop. That’s not a reason to fire that woman.”
Some social media users have come to Bassett’s defense, while others say it’s not appropriate for a white woman to say that phrase.
The award-winning journalist, crowned Mrs. Mississippi International in 2000, shares three children with her husband.
Bassett graduated from Mississippi College in 1993 and earned a Master of Science degree from Mississippi State University with a concentration in broadcast meteorology, according to her online resume.
She had worked for WLBT for 20 years before her sack.
Watch the video of the gaffe here.
