Mississippi meteorologist and news anchor apparently removed after quoting Snoop Dogg live on air
Barbie Bassett previously apologised for another on-air comment in October
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Your support makes all the difference.A Mississippi morning news anchor has been absent from her station since she quoted Snoop Dogg live on air earlier this month.
Meteorologist and news anchor Barbie Bassett has not been seen on air for the NBC affiliate WLBT since 8 March.
During her last episode, as per Deadline, Bassett and her team were discussing Snoop Dogg’s line of wines.
“Fo shizzle, my nizzle,” said Bassett when the idea of a collaboration between the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper and a newsroom journalist was raised.
“Nizzle” is slang for the N-word.
Bassett has since attracted prominent support over the matter from comedian Whoopi Goldberg, who complained about political correctness in the anchor’s defence during an appearance on ABC’s The View.
“There has to be a book of stuff that nobody could ever say, ever, ever, ever. Include everything,” she said.
“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. It’s hard to keep up. And if you’re a person of a certain age, there’s stuff we do, and we say.”
This is not the first time that Bassett has caused controversy. In October last year, she apologised after she referred to a Black reporter’s “grandmammy” on air.
Her absence from the programme since the episode (8 March) in question has prompted viewers to believe she has been fired from her role.
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Bassett has also been absent from Twitter since then. The meteorologist was notably absent from the social media discussions about the tornado, which hit Mississippi last weekend.
Bassett is no longer listed on the station’s website, according to the newspaper Clarion Ledger.
The newspaper states: “Bassett did not respond to direct messages on Twitter, Facebook and her personal website.”
The New York Post quotes the station’s regional vice president Ted Fortenberry as saying: “As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters.”
The Independent has contacted a representative of WLBT for comment.
Snoop Dogg – real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr – recently performed at the O2 Arena. During his show, the rapper gave a moment to his popular Just Eat advert.
During the star’s show, the ad appeared on screen and played in full, in a nod to its popularity with British audiences.
In a recent interview, the rapper, 51, also reflected on his long friendship with David Beckham.
He explained that they were “naturally attracted” to one another.
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