Mississippi News Anchor Fired For Quoting Snoop Dogg During Broadcast

Mississippi news anchor and meteorologist Barbie Bassett hasn't been back on the air since she quoted Snoop Dogg during a broadcast in early March.

During a WLBT news segment about Snoop Dogg's newest wine, Bassett blurted out a well-known quote from the rapper. Whether she knew precisely what she was saying or not is unknown, but her social media followers support her wholeheartedly.

While discussing Snoop Dogg's latest business venture, Snoop Cali Blanc, at the news desk live on air, Bassett quoted Snoop Dogg saying, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle," a phrase that includes slang for the N-word.

Bassett has not been back to the news desk since this report. While it hasn't been made public that she's been officially fired, she's no longer listed as a news team member on the WLBT website.

Bassett hasn't posted anything on social media regarding the incident, but shared a photo of a quote on Instagram that reads, "The devil whispered in my ear: Your not strong enough to withstand this storm. I whispered back: You're."

Tons of support filled the post's comment section, with many people questioning if she did anything wrong.

"I LOVE YOUUU!!! ❤️ You were more “supportive & down with the culture” ✊🏾 honestly. Your coming to the next cookout! I appreciate you! #Foshizzle 🤘🏾," one follower wrote. Another added, "Where is Snoop Dog to help this woman out! This is insane! Y’all know she didn’t even know what that meant. What a sad world we are living in."

Another follower wrote, "Just now hearing about this. Never heard of Ms Bassett until today. Positive she didn't mean anything offensive when she said 'nizzle'. No one even says that anymore, lol. I support her and think she should have her job back. You should start a petition."

"As a representative of the black community we love you and you did nothing wrong," another follower said.

Charlamagne Tha God defended the longtime news reporter saying that's no reason to fire her.

"That's the thing with hip hop, man. Hip hop is so big and so mainstream and it's just like who can consume it and who can't? You know what I mean?" he said.

After being told that Bassett was at the news station for over 20 years, Charlamagne continued, "Who can repeat slang and who can't?"

"The Breakfast Club" host continued by asking how old she is and saying she probably had no idea exactly what she was repeating.

"She might not have any idea," he said. "She just thinks she's sounding cool repeating Snoop Dogg."

Bassett issued an apology in October 2022 after making an insensitive remark on air about a Black reporter's "grandmammy," per The Birmingham News.

"Last Friday on our newscast ‘Today at 11’, I used a term that was offensive to many in our audience and to my coworkers here at WLBT. Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful. I have apologized to Carmen Poe," her apology began.

"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."

Basset has not yet given a statement regarding the March 8 incident. According to USA Today, WLBT officials did not return calls or emails about Bassett's status, but in a message via social media, WLBT Vice President and General Manager Ted Fortenberry said, "As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters."