Radio Host Chris Baker Fired Over 'Racist' Tweet About Derek Chauvin Verdict
So a conservative radio host thought it was okay to post a photo of African tribesmen dancing in celebration of the Chauvin verdict and didnt think that would be seen as racist ?
Racism is "over" ?
lol
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A conservative radio host in Omaha, Nebraska, has been fired after posting a tweet about Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict that was branded racist.
Shortly after the verdict was handed down on Tuesday, KFAB talk show host Chris Baker tweeted the word "Guilty!" along with a gif of four Black tribesmen, dressed only in loincloths, apparently dancing in celebration.
Baker later deleted the tweet, and posted another one saying: "Not funny at all, stop it." But screenshots of continued to circulate on Twitter, with some calling for Baker's termination and for advertisers to sever ties with his show.
This is a tweet that was posted then quickly deleted by Nebraska radio host @CBakerShow when the verdict was announced in the Derek Chauvin trial.
Racism like this is a FEATURE of conservative talk radio but they usually mask it with dog whistles.
But not this time. @kfabnews pic.twitter.com/3lr5TFyBhi
— Senator McCollister (@SenMcCollister) April 21, 2021
Baker was fired from KFAB on Wednesday, C. Taylor Walet III, the Nebraska area president of iHeartMedia, which owns the station, gave a statement to local news outlets.
His tweet was "completely inappropriate and unacceptable," Walet said. "Please know that this does not represent our viewpoint or our values, and we take this situation very seriously. Accordingly, Chris Baker's employment with our company has been terminated."
Baker's page on the KFAB website has been taken down, with visitors greeted with a message that says: "Sorry. The page is currently unavailable."
In a phone interview with the Omaha World-Herald , 64-year-old Baker apologized for what he described as a "boomer Twitter moment."
He claimed he had accidentally selected the wrong image while searching for a gif of people celebrating. Baker said he struggled to remove the tweet immediately and that he didn't expect people to buy his explanation.
"I apologize for a stupid move. I apologize for the mistake," he added.
Asked if he thought the tweet he had posed was racist, Baker said: "It's horrible is what it was."
But Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt, a Democrat, likened calling the tweet racist to water being "decried as wet."
water decried as wet
I'm frequently invited to be a guest on the @CBakerShow, but I do not allow racist shock jocks to use me to increase their ad revenue. KFAB provides a platform for this, and for that reason I cannot support them.https://t.co/h2ZcLxydFW
— Senator Megan Hunt (@NebraskaMegan) April 21, 2021
"I'm frequently invited to be a guest on the @CBakerShow, but I do not allow racist shock jocks to use me to increase their ad revenue," Hunt added. "KFAB provides a platform for this, and for that reason I cannot support them."
Nebraska State Senator John McCollister, a Republican, tweeted a screenshot of Baker's deleted tweet, adding: "Racism like this is a FEATURE of conservative talk radio but they usually mask it with dog whistles. But not this time."
And Krysty Becker, of Omaha-based nonprofit Inclusive Communities told KETV that it was a "direct, racist comment."
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We got a LONG way to go.