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Screenshot via Youtube H/T ABC

News anchor apologizes for using a racial slur during Oscars coverage

Former Miss Missouri Kristi Capel claims she didn't know what the word meant.

 

Myles Tanzer

IRL

Posted on Feb 23, 2015   Updated on May 29, 2021, 11:39 am CDT

Lots of people who watched the Oscars on Sunday night were quick to compliment Lady Gaga for her stripped-down tribute to The Sound of Music. Kristi Capel, an anchor for Fox 8 News in Cleveland and a former Miss USA pageant winner, got a little carried away with her praise for the Artpop singer and slipped in a wee little racial slur. Whoops!

https://vine.co/v/OQjMlMTqbF0

In the clip, Capel praised Gaga for not singing with any “jigaboo music” behind her. “Jigaboo” is an outdated racial slur referring to people of color. It’s a word your racist aunt would use when light R&B gets added to the playlist of her favorite light-music station. 

Shortly after the clip was posted online, Capel tried to personally respond to those demanding an apology. “I do apologize if I offended you,” she wrote to many outraged Twitter users. “I didn’t know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word.” These apology tweets were then deleted without any explanation. Capel has now gone radio-silent. 

H/T CleveScene | Screengrab via Oscars 2015/YouTube

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*First Published: Feb 23, 2015, 1:23 pm CST