White Anchors Should Know Not to Use “My Nizzle”
Barbie Bassett may have meant no harm by her now viral mistake, but she should have known better by now.
In 2022, Barbie Bassett, an anchor for the NBC affiliate WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi, issued an apology after referring to a Black reporter’s “grandmammy” while on air.
“But Carmen … girl … sis,” Bassett said in the on air comments that drew controversy. “I know you well enough to know that those guys working behind you, they probably know who the celebrity Gameday figure is, so you need to go swing by the Krogers, get you a chocolate pie … and you need to go offering it to some of those guys working behind you and see if you can get the scoop from one of those in return. I know your mother or your grandmammy got some type of a recipe that you can whip up. Don’t you think? Take it to them?”
After presumably being told she sounded mighty racist and confederate for using “mammy,” Bassett offered an apology:
“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 pray you’ll forgive me and that you’ll extend grace through this awful mistake.”
