There has been no sign of a Mississippi morning news anchorwoman since she dropped a popular Snoop Dogg lyric during a live broadcast earlier this month.
Barbie Bassett has not been on air for the NBC affiliate WLBT since March 8, when her team was discussing the rapper's new wine collection.
Bassett said, "Fo shizzle, my nizzle," when her co-anchor mentioned a collaboration with Snoop and joked about her getting a tattoo of the rapper. "Nizzle" is slang for the N-word. Video of the moment has been viewed more than 10 million times.
Bassett is no longer listed on the station's website, according to the Clarion Ledger. She also hasn't shared anything on Twitter since Match 8 -- her silence including this weekend when a deadly tornado struck Mississippi, sparking huge chatter among meteorologists.
Bassett, the station's chief meteorologist as well as an anchor, previously caused controversy last fall with a comment referring to a black reporter's "grandmammy" on the air. She later apologized for the “awful mistake.”
"I used a term that was offensive to many in our audience and to my coworkers here at WLBT. Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful," she said in a statement. “That is not the heart of who I am. And for that, I humbly ask for your forgiveness, and I apologize to everyone I have offended. I will learn from this and participate in training so I can better understand our history and our people.”
The station has declined comment to several outlets, with management saying they cannot talk about "personnel matters."
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