Fired Anchor is Fighting Back After Losing Ruling

Former Jackson, Mississippi, news anchor Barbie Bassett asked a Fifth Circuit panel on Monday to revive her racial discrimination lawsuit against WLBT, the NBC affiliate that fired her for using Snoop Dogg’s catchphrase "fo shizzle, my nizzle" during a 2023 broadcast. Bassett, a 20-year veteran of the station who had previously been disciplined for an on-air comment about a Black colleague’s "grandmammy," argues that her termination under Title VII was discriminatory. Her attorney, Jim Waide, contended that the station prioritized complaints from Black viewers over support from white viewers, suggesting that the station’s failure to recognize the phrase as a harmless slang term for "my friend" was a reflection of the management's own cultural disconnect rather than Bassett's intent.

The legal challenge follows a district court’s summary judgment in favor of WLBT, where the judge ruled that Bassett failed to identify any non-white employees who were treated more leniently for similar conduct. During Monday's hearing, the station’s counsel, Kim Hodges, argued that Bassett’s intent is irrelevant to the law, maintaining that the station acted on an "honest belief" that the language was offensive and violated an employment agreement prohibiting conduct that harms the station’s reputation. While Bassett’s team maintains that the station's reaction to audience demographics constitutes disparate treatment, the appellate panel, including Judges Dana Douglas, Edith Brown Clement, and Irma Carrillo Ramirez, questioned whether the documented public outcry provided a race-neutral, objective basis for the firing.