Lots of people who watched the Oscars on Sunday night were quick to compliment Lady Gaga for her stripped-down tribute to The Sound of Music. Kristi Capel, an anchor for Fox 8 News in Cleveland and a former Miss USA pageant winner, got a little carried away with her praise for the Artpop singer and slipped in a wee little racial slur. Whoops!
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In the clip, Capel praised Gaga for not singing with any “jigaboo music” behind her. “Jigaboo” is an outdated racial slur referring to people of color. It’s a word your racist aunt would use when light R&B gets added to the playlist of her favorite light-music station.
Shortly after the clip was posted online, Capel tried to personally respond to those demanding an apology. “I do apologize if I offended you,” she wrote to many outraged Twitter users. “I didn’t know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word.” These apology tweets were then deleted without any explanation. Capel has now gone radio-silent.
H/T CleveScene | Screengrab via Oscars 2015/YouTube
