Mississippi News Anchor Fired For Quoting Snoop Dogg On-Air

Mississippi morning news anchor and chief meteorologist Barbie Bassett has been fired after quoting Snoop Dogg on air earlier this month. Bassett worked at NBC affiliate WLBT, and during a March 8 broadcast she engaged in an on-air discussion around Snoop's Cali wine line. At one point, Bassett said the phrase, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle."

"Nizzle" is slang for the N-word, and Bassett is white. As the New York Post reports, Bassett also once tweeted the phrase in 2011. Likewise, in October 2022, Bassett apologized 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 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."

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."

Radio DJ Charlamagne Tha God came to Bassett's defense, saying on The Breakfast Club: "I don’t think she should have been fired for that. She might not even know what ‘nizzle’ means, yo. Come on, like stop. That’s not a reason to fire that woman."

"As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters," Ted Fortenberry, the station’s regional vice president and general manager, said in a statement to the Post.