AMENDS

Oklahoma Morning Show Anchor Tearfully Apologizes for Comparing Co-Anchor to Gorilla

“I hurt people. I want you to know I understand how much I hurt you,” the white host said to her African-American co-host during their broadcast.

Alex Housden, a host on an Oklahoma City morning show, tearfully apologized on-air Friday for comparing her African-American co-host to a gorilla. “I hurt people. I want you to know I understand how much I hurt you out there and how much I hurt you,” Housden said to her colleague Jason Hackett, adding that she knows it was wrong and that she would never intentionally hurt him. The racist comment was made during a segment on Thursday during which the two hosts were discussing a gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo. At the end of the segment, Housden said to Hackett: “Kind of looks like you.” To which Hackett hesitantly responded, “He kind of does, actually, yeah.” The clip spread on social media, where Housden was criticized for the comment. Her co-anchor accepted her apology, and said he wanted to use the exchange as a teachable moment for their audience. “The lesson here is that words matter,” Hackett said. “We have to understand the stereotypes, we have to understand each other’s backgrounds and the words that hurt, the words that cut deep.”