A TV anchor and meteorologist in Arkansas are being criticized for wearing Afro wigs live on-air to 'celebrate' temperatures dropping in the state.
The station that the two white men work for, KATV, quickly suspended them both and fired their boss, for wearing the African American-style hairpieces during the evening weather report.
The segment, called “return to the 70s,” was shot at 10 p.m. on Sept. 16. May had shared a photo on Twitter of him sporting the hairstyle but later deleted it, the Arkansas Times reported.
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The scene drew the attention of several activists, including Dr. Anika Whitfield, who called for the station to discipline the two men. When she received no response, she reached out to John Seabers, a Sinclair Broadcast Group vice president and group manager in charge of local stations in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma.
Seabers issued an apology for the segment after he got in contact with Whitfield.
“We apologize to all viewers who were rightfully offended by the segment, and we promise to enact and enforce new measures to prevent future incidents from occurring,” Seabers said in his response.
Sinclair suspended May and Brandt, who have been at their station for more than 20 years, Daily Mail reported. Nick Genty, their boss, was also fired by the broadcast group.
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The Arkansas Times also shared that Seabers joined a call with Whitfield and members of the Central Arkansas Association of Black Journalists to apologize for what had happened.
Seabers called what May and Brandt did “abhorrent” and “juvenile,” saying they were disappointed in the staff as they underwent six weeks of racial sensitivity training prior to the segment.
