Halle Berry Responds to Racist Comments from Fired New York Radio Host
Written by SOURCE on March 27, 2021
Halle Berry has addressed the racist comments that a Buffalo, New York radio host made about her complexion, comparing it to numbered settings on a toaster. He was fired after making the remarks on-air.
“Disgusting. It’s ridiculous this type of nonsense is still being broadcasted across airwaves,” she wrote on Twitter. “ALL Black women are beautiful and worthy, Rob Lederman. GTFOH.”
Her tweet was a response to the 45-second clip of 97 Rock host Rob Lederman’s comments, where he also talked about Serena Williams and Gayle King. ESPN reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques shared the audio, where Lederman said on his The Morning Bull Show, “I may get into trouble for this,” while speaking to co-hosts Rich “Bull” Gaenzler” and Chris Klein.
A Cumulus Media spokesperson told People in a statement, “CUMULUS MEDIA operates from a clearly-defined set of programming principles and there is no question that Rob Lederman’s comments made on The Morning Bull Show are in direct violation of those principles.” The release continued, “We swiftly terminated him and suspended the remainder of the show’s on-air talent. We apologize, and deeply regret the incident.”
Ledermam told The Buffalo News that he was “horrified” by his own remarks after he listened back to them. “I could easily see how someone could be offended by that. I get that,” he said. “It sounds terrible, and it is terrible… Now, can I take back those words? No. If you listen to them, were they meant to be hurtful? Absolutely not.” He also said he wants to “learn from this” and was remorseful “to anybody that would be hurt” by what he said.
