Former reporter Valerie Hoff from Atlanta

Photo via Valerie_Hoff/Twitter Remix by Samantha Grasso

White reporter resigns after her attempt to jokingly use the N-word with a source

She said she had good intentions.

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Samantha Grasso

IRL

Posted on May 4, 2017   Updated on May 24, 2021, 3:34 pm CDT

Valerie Hoff, a white reporter for 11Alive news station in Atlanta, resigned from her post two weeks after attempting to jokingly refer to herself using the n-word while corresponding with a black source through Twitter direct messages.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the exchange happened on April 13, when a man who identified himself as Curtis Rivers tweeted out a video of a traffic stop, during which a white cop punched a black motorist.

Like many other people who share videos of injustice of relative noteworthiness, Rivers received a barrage of inquiries from news stations asking to use the footage. One of those inquiries came from Hoff, who direct messaged Rivers and referred to herself as a “news n—a,” a callback to a messaged Rivers tweeted about the attention he was receiving from news outlets.

According to screenshots obtained by the publication, Hoff wrote, “Please call this news n—a,” and “Lol I’m with 11alive.”

Rivers responded with “LMFAOO,” at first, but confronted her once he realized she was white. Hoff then tried to explain that she wasn’t calling Rivers the n-word, but herself, as a reference to his tweet. She then apologized several times, to which he replied, “How would I be able to contact your manager or lawyer?”

“I just think it wasn’t right for her to use that word in regards to a person who is African American on herself or use the word period for that matter,” Rivers told the Journal-Constitution ” … if she is bold enough to say it to me being an African American then I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time she has used that word.”

Rivers shared screenshots of the conversation in a tweet, now deleted, but not before others criticized Hoff’s use of the racial slur. Though she was using his reference and talking about herself, it didn’t excuse the fact that a white woman was using a word historically used by white people to oppress African Americans.

https://twitter.com/SchoolEm_Jonesy/status/852655928004550656

Hoff originally offered to resign, but was instead placed on a two-week suspension. However, after catching wind of the brewing Journal-Constitution post, Hoff immediately resigned on April 28. She said she plans to work on her travel and food blogs this summer while being a stay-at-home mom.

“I was quoting something the gentleman said in a public tweet back to him in a private message but that doesn’t make it any less offensive,” Hoff told the publication. “It was incredibly stupid and reckless. I was in the middle of a pressure-filled day trying to chase down the video of a man being beaten and kicked by two Gwinnett police officers, which this particular gentleman had posted on Twitter. I repeatedly apologized and continue to do so. I also offered to resign immediately.”

Though Hoff says she understands what she said was offensive and wrong, her context of a “pressure-filled” day and the tweets she’s posted since seem to tell a different story.

So much for lessons learned.

H/T Blavity

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*First Published: May 4, 2017, 11:48 am CDT

Samantha Grasso

Samantha Grasso is a former IRL staff writer for the Daily Dot with a reporting emphasis on immigration. Her work has appeared on AJ+, Vox, Splinter, Los Angeles Magazine, and Austin Monthly.

Samantha Grasso