What Happened to WLBT News Anchor Barbie Bassett?

Regular viewers of WLBT News in Mississippi may have noticed that Barbie Bassett, who is usually one of the network’s regular anchors, has been absent from the network recently. Given her somewhat extended absence, some people wanted to know whether Barbie was on vacation or had left the station altogether. Thankfully, we’ve got everything you need to know about what happened to Barbie.

Although WLBT News has not offered a concrete reason for her departure, they did confirm to Vicksburg Daily News that Barbie is no longer with the station. They didn’t say whether she had left of her own volition or been fired, but some believe that she was forced to leave the station after making what were perceived as awkward and racially insensitive remarks on more than one occasion.

In October 2022, Barbie came under some fire after, during some banter with a Black reporter on the air, she suggested that the reporter’s “grandmammy” might have a pie recipe she could use to report out a story.

“Mammy” is a racially-charged stereotype that originated in the South, and is often used to refer to Black women who cared for white children both before and after the Civil War.

Barbie apologized for her comments the following day. “Last Friday on our newscast ‘Today at 11’, I used a term that was offensive to many in our audience and to my coworkers here at WLBT,” she said at the time. “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,” she continued “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.”

After her apology in October in 2022, Barbie returned to her post as usual. More recently, though, she made another comment that led many viewers to raise their eyebrows. During a segment reporting on a new variety of wine from Snoop Dogg, she said “fo’ shizzle my nizzle” in response to a comment from a colleague.