Two radio hosts in Rochester, New York, have been fired over racist comments they made during a live broadcast on Tuesday (US time).
The 95.1 radio hosts, owned by iHeartMedia, were discussing the attack of a local couple following a recent Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Rochester.
In the discussion, Kimberly Ray, of the duo Kimberly and Beck, referred to the n-word three times during the segment. She asked if the attackers were acting “n-word-ish” and “n-word-ly”, while not actually using the n-word.
Beck replied: “Yeah. They were acting thuggerly”.
Beck also said: “They’re thugs. If you look like a thug and act like a thug, and you’re three-on-one beating up a white woman with a two-by-four, you’re a thug.”
Kimberly added: “People in the black community would say they’re acting n-wordly.”
The two hosts then went on to discuss and question why they can’t use the “n-word,” concluding that, “No one’s offended by that.”
The hosts’ comments created a social media firestorm and calls for their dismissal, with the pair ultimately fired.
“We made the decision to terminate Kimberly and Beck yesterday as soon as we learned of their comments and informed them early this morning,” said Robert J. Morgan, president of the upstate New York market for iHeartMedia.
“We will not tolerate this kind of behavior, which is antithetical to our core values and beliefs and to our commitment to our community and everyone in it.”
— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) June 3, 2020
@iHeartRadio @Radio_951
I am disgusted by the conversation that Kimberly and Beck had on air today!! Racism is not ok! Calling people “N-Wordy” is FOUL. Is this what you stand for? #firekimberlyandbeck— Brittany Michelle (@thelovecatsx) June 3, 2020
@Radio_951 #KimberlyandBeck are racist!… NO IF, BUTS OR MAYBES… Do the absolute right thing and fire them… There is nothing to question… What they said On Air was inexcusable… Don't even think about not taking further action plz!
— Stephanie Lola (@StephieLola1996) June 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/Michelle_Mariek/status/1268042244826845185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democratandchronicle.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2020%2F06%2F03%2Fkimberly-and-beck-radio-show-in-rochester-ny-sets-off-firestorm-over-racially-charged-comments%2F3130561001%2F
