Whoopi Goldberg speaks out on news anchor 'taken off air' for quoting Snoop Dogg

Whoopi Goldberg has defended a news anchor who appears to have been taken off air after quoting Snoop Dogg during a live TV broadcast.

The comedian commented on the incident after Barbie Bassett appeared on NBC affiliate WLBT earlier this month.

The hosts were discussing the rapper and musician’s Cali wine range at the time when the presenters raised the idea of collaborating with him.

Discussing the topic, Bassett said: “Fo shizzle, my nizzle.” “Nizzle” is slang for the N-word. The saying was popularised by Snoop Dogg and features in his 2002 song Suited ’n’ Booted.

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As the Clarion Ledger reports, Bassett is no longer listed as a member of the team on the station’s website.

“As I am sure you can understand, WLBT is unable to comment on personnel matters,” Ted Fortenberry, the station’s regional vice president and general manager said in a statement to The New York Post.

Goldberg is one of a number of commentators who have defended Bassett.

Appearing on her ABC talk show, Goldberg claimed that Bassett should not be fired as a result of her comments.

She said: “There has to be a book of stuff that nobody could ever say, ever, ever, ever. Include everything. The things that change, you can say this, but you can’t say that, but next week you might not be able to say this, it’s hard to keep up. It’s hard to keep up. And if you’re a person of a certain age, there’s stuff we do, and we say.”

The comedian went on to say that “just because we’re on television, doesn’t mean we know everything”.

Goldberg defended Bassett on her ABC chat showGetty/WLBT

“We don’t know everything you’re not supposed to do. And if there is something someone says, if you’re not going to give them the opportunity to explain why they said it, at least give them the grace of saying ‘you know what, I’ve just been informed that I should not of done that,’ as opposed to ‘you’re out.’

"Because saying ‘you’re out’ means that you don’t want to hear what people have to say or the mistakes that they might have made that could have helped somebody else not make that mistake,” she added.

The news has provoked a reaction online with American radio host Charlamagne tha God was another figure who came to her defence.

“I don’t think she should have been fired for that,” he said on The Breakfast Club radio show.

“She might not even know what ‘nizzle’ means, yo. Come on, like stop. That’s not a reason to fire that woman.”

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