It may not be any fun if the homies can’t have none, but one Mississippi news anchor learned the hard way that sometimes it’s for your good to avoid temptation. WLBT journalist and meteorologist Barbie Bassett’s on-air use of rapper Snoop Dogg’s lyric and signature slang catchphrase was the reason why she might be out of a job.
During a broadcast, as Bassett and her co-anchors discussed the entrepreneur’s latest collaboration with the wine company, 19 Crimes, she closed with a line that the musician popularized in the early 2000s, “Fo shizzle, my nizzle.”
Mississippi news anchor Barbie Basset fired for saying “Fo Shizzle My Nizzle” live on air when discussing Snoop Dog new wine collection. She has been a news anchor at the company for over 20 years. 👀😳
pic.twitter.com/zWBAOlvHyk— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) March 25, 2023
On the surface, the phrase that has appeared in several of Snoop’s songs as a throwaway lyric, may seem innocent enough. However, when translated from AAVE (African-American Vernacular English), it means, “for sure, my n****.”
Although the network has not released a formal statement, Bassett is no longer listed under the news team on its website. Bassett’s professional biography has also been scrubbed from the website.
When the clip went viral on social media, people called for Bassett to be rehired as it was a simple mistake. However, in another clip Bassett used the term “Grandmammy” to refer to her coworker of color’s grandmother. “Mammy” is a negative stereotype of Black women seen in earlier films where Black women were domestic servants to white families. Users now feel that Bassett’s use of the term “nizzle” was intentional.
To be clear, Basset did apologize for using the term “grandmammy.” But she hasn’t issued one for using the term “nizzle.” This isn’t the first time an anchor used Snoop Dogg’s lyrics on air.
