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Mississippi morning news veteran anchor Barbie Bassett has been pulled from the air after using Snoop Dogg’s popular phrase "fo shizzle, my nizzle" during a live broadcast.
While discussing Snoop Dogg’s latest venture into the California wine market, Snoop Cali Blanc, Bassett and her colleagues at NBC affiliate WLBT traded jokes about the new beverage line. At one point, co-anchor Wilson Stribling floated the idea that a newsroom journalist may get a tattoo like Martha Stewart inspired by Snoop Dogg.
"Fo shizzle, my nizzle," Bassett gleefully responded, seemingly unaware that "nizzle" is slang for the n-word.
Standing at the far end of the desk, Meteorologist Patrick Ellis appeared shocked by the comment.
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WLBT News anchor Barbie Bassett has not been seen on air since March 8 and her bio has been removed from the news outlet's website. (Facebook/Barbie Basstt)
Bassett did not return to the anchor desk after the March 8 incident. As reported by the Clarion Ledger, Bassett is no longer listed as a news team member.
Bassett, who is White, also tweeted the phrase in 2011, but the post has since been deleted.
This is not the first time Bassett has found herself at the center of controversy.
In October 2022, Bassett, who was WLBT’s first-ever chief meteorologist, apologized after using the phrase "grandmammy" while speaking with a Black female reporter, who she also called "girl" and "sis."
An image of Wilson Stribling, Barbie Bassett and Patrick Ellis standing behind the WLBT news desk. (Instagram/Barbie Bassett )
"Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful. I have apologized to Carmen Poe," Bassett said at the time. "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."
"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," Bassett added.
Bassett’s latest slip-up went viral over the weekend. While some criticized Bassett’s choice of words, she also received support from Charlamagne tha God.
Charlamagne tha God is seen during a campaign event and conversation with Stacey Abrams, 21 Savage, and Francys Johnson at The HBUC on September 9, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
"I don’t think she should have been fired for that," Charlamagne said on "The Breakfast Club" podcast. "She might not even know what ‘nizzle’ means, yo. Come on, like stop. That’s not a reason to fire that woman."
According to Bassett’s resume, she graduated from Mississippi College in 1993 and went on to earn a Master of Science degree at Mississippi State University with a focus on broadcast meteorology.
WLBT Regional Vice President and General Manager Ted Fortenberry told Fox News Digital, "As I am sure you can understand and have read in other media outlets, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters. Right now we are focused on helping the communities of Rolling Fork and Silver City in the Mississippi Delta where more than 20 people were killed and an entire town destroyed Friday night."
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Last month, Meghan Mangrum, an education journalist who joined the Dallas newspaper in August 2022, claimed she was fired for using the term "bruh" in a tweet directed at Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, D.
"Bruh? Have we met?" the Democratic mayor shot back.
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