Longtime journalist from Mississippi and meteorologist She is no longer listed as a member of her news team After quoting a racially insensitive term from a lyric by Snoop Dogg on Air.
Barbie Bassett Biography has been removed from WLBT websitewhere all bots are on air.
WLBT officials did not return phone calls, emails, or texts regarding Bassett’s situation. In a social media message, WLBT Vice President and General Manager Ted Fortenberry said, “As I’m sure you understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters.”
On-air staff refused to comment, directing all questions to management. Bassett did not respond to direct messages on Twitter, Facebook and her personal website.
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Bassett was reprimanded October 2022 for non-sensitive comments. on that occasion, issued a statement I apologize for the comment.
“Last Friday in our Today at 11 newsletter, I used an offensive term to many in our audience and to my co-workers here at WLBT. Although it was not intended, I now understand how insensitive and hurtful my comment was,” Bassett said at the time. “I’ve apologized to Carmen Boo.
“Now, I would like to apologize to you. This is not the essence of who I am. For this, I humbly ask for your forgiveness, and apologize to all those I have offended. I will learn from this and participate in training so that I can better understand our history and our people. I cannot repair the damage my comment has caused I pray that you will forgive me and that you will grant grace through this terrible mistake.”
The latest incident was reported to have occurred in early March. She has not appeared on WLBT since March 8, and has removed any mention of WLBT from her Facebook page.
WLBT has not made any public comment on this matter.
The most recent on-air commentary was in reference to a story about Snoop Dogg’s latest business venture, Snoop Cali Blanc, his fourth wine in the successful Cali Wine collection. In the crosstalk between the two anchors after the news portion of the segment was completed, Bassett, who is white, repeated a famous slang for Snoop saying, “Fu chisel, oh (expletive)”. The last part of the lyric referred to a racial epithet for black people.
Bassett graduated from Mississippi College and received a Master of Science degree from Mississippi State University with a concentration in meteorology. Bassett has received the American Meteorological Society’s Seal of Approval and has been awarded “Best Weather” by the Associated Press several times.
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She was WLBT’s first chief meteorologist in its 50-plus year history. Bassett was also an opera singer, ventriloquist, pianist, and model.
Social media comments were mixed about Bassett’s departure, with some saying the station overreacted and others harshly criticizing Bassett’s comments.
With 51,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 16,000 followers on Twitter, Bassett is a frequent commenter on social media, but she hasn’t updated her Facebook page since March 8. One of those jobsBassett says she solicits feedback and tries to respond to every comment she receives. Many have commented on the March 8 incident, but Bassett did not respond to those comments.
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