TV news anchor not seen on air since quoting Snoop Dogg lyric during broadcast

A TV news anchor hasn't been seen on air after quoting Snoop Dogg during a live broadcast earlier this month.

Barbie Bassett has not been seen on NBC's WLBT 3 news broadcast since March 8, when she quoted a popular Snoop Dogg phrase.

Bassett and her colleagues Wilson Stribling and Patrick Ellis had been discussing Snoop Dogg's Cali wine when the awkward moment unfolded live on air. Take a look:

"Before we know it she [Bassett] would have a Snoop Dogg tattoo on her shoulder," joked Stribling.

Without missing a beat, Bassett nodded back at Stribling and replied: "Fo shizzle, my nizzle."

Although the sentiment behind the quote is relatively harmless, Bassett's use of the phrase was a little controversial, given that 'nizzle' is a slang rhyming term for the N-word.

Ellis, who works as a meteorologist on WLBT, immediately stopped laughing and focused his gaze down at the desk in front of him, seemingly trying to hide his shocked expression.

Since the incident, not only has Bassett been missing from regular WLBT news broadcasts, but many have noticed that she's no longer listed as a member of the news team on the official WLBT website.

WLBT

The news anchor has also been absent from Twitter, were she usually regularly posts news updates.

Neither WLBT nor NBC has responded to questions about Bassett's whereabouts.

UNILAD has reached out to both broadcasters for comment.

What's unfortunate about this blunder is that this isn't the first time that Bassett has landed herself in hot water for her word choice.

Back in October 2022, the anchor issued a public apology after referring to a Black news reporter Carmen Poe's grandmother as her 'grandmammy' live on air.

Encouraging Poe to try and 'get the scoop' about a mystery celebrity guest at an ESPN college gameday, Bassett told her: "You need to go get you a chocolate pie and you need to go offering it to some of these guys working behind you... I know that your mother or your grandmammy have got some type of recipe that you could whip up."

WLBT

Later apologising for her choice of words, Bassett said in a statement: "Though not intentional, I now understand how my comment was both insensitive and hurtful. I have apologized to Carmen Poe.

"Now, I would like to apologize to you. 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. I can’t mend the hurt my comment caused.

"I pray you’ll forgive me and that you’ll extend grace through this awful mistake."