Cleveland's Fox 8 news anchor Kristi Capel used the racial slur "jigaboo" to describe Lady Gaga's music this morning.
Capel and co-anchor Wayne Dawson were tasked with giving commentary on Lady Gaga's tribute to Julie Andrews from last night's Oscars, and Capel went off on a unclear tangent about Lady Gaga's sound: "You can really hear her voice with all the jigaboo music that she — whatever you wanna call it," Capel says. She repeats the word one final time before Dawson takes helm of the segment.
The word "jigaboo" was most used in the late 19th and early 20th century to denigrate black people, often in connection to stereotyped physical features.
Capel has issued a copy-and-paste apology to a number of Twitter users, stating that she "didn't know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word."
@LocsWithoutKeys I do apologize if I offended you, I didn't know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word. Thank you for watching.
@Hanrahan87 @RoverRadio I do apologize if I offended you, I didn't know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word.
@petezahutt @fox8news I apologize, I didn't know it was a word or what it meant. Thank you for watching.
Many still take issue with Capel's careless use of the term, especially in a field where a wide vocabulary is needed.
Im not breaking out the pitchforks for that jigaboo comment but her saying she didnt know is weak. Youre a news anchor. Words are your job.