Source: Bas Vermolen / Getty
Alex Housden’s co-anchor, Jason Hackett, may have accepted her apology one day after she compared him to a gorilla on live TV, but for the public, it’s just not enough.
On Thursday (August 22), after reporting on a segment about a gorilla at the local zoo, Housden said the animal “kind of looks like” Hackett, a Black news anchor.
“I hurt people. I want you to know I understand how much I hurt you out there,” Housden apologized directly into the camera the following morning before turning to Hackett to say, “and how much I hurt you.”
While Hackett did accept her apology, he also made a point to say what she said was wrong.
“The lesson here is that words matter,” Hackett said during the broadcast
“What she said yesterday was wrong. It cut deep for me, and it cut deep for a lot of you in the community,” Hackett, said in a live broadcast Friday, the day after his white co-anchor made the controversial comment.
“We’re becoming a more diverse country, and there’s no excuse. We have to understand the stereotypes,” he continued, directing his words to Housden, who both described each other as “my best friend.”
“We have to understand each other’s backgrounds and the words that hurt, the words that cut deep,” he added. “We have to find a way to replace those words with love and words of affirmation as well.”
After Housden’s tearful, live TV apology, and Hackett’s acceptance and statement, it appears she will keep her post with KOCO-TV for now.
Many took to Twitter to express their disdain.
Check out the conversation HERE
