A meteorologist with CBS 46 has come under fire after viewers accused her of comparing a Black man to a photo of gorillas during a 9 p.m. newscast on Monday.
Ella Dorsey wants critics to back down, as she claims she was simply comparing a gorilla’s posture to an anchor’s posture, not to the black man in the photo, Yahoo reports.
The anchors of the program, Shon Gables and Thomas Roberts, were discussing a viral photo of a Black park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo taking selfies with two gorillas. Dorsey reacted by saying, “Isn’t it amazing? You can see the similarities between you and them.”
After an awkward pause, Roberts noted, “My posture is not that good,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The station received a slew of complaints from viewers who accused Dorsey of comparing the gorillas to the Black man in the photos.
Viewer Maya Teague wrote on Twitter, “WOW! You notice the similarities between an African man and a gorilla? Focus on the weather, Sunshine.”
The user then tagged the show’s Black anchor Gables, adding, “Please educate your coworkers on subliminal #racism,” AJC reports.
Dorsey responded to the controversy on Twitter, writing: “Hi Maya. I meant [similarities] in Thomas’s posture and the gorilla. I never meant between the man and the gorilla. Sorry if I offended you! Thank you for watching.”
Others on social media were quick to come to Dorsey’s defense, stating, “She doesn’t take life so seriously and likes joking around with her co-workers and news stories. Sometimes she goes overboard. So what. People walk around with sticks up their butts looking for things to offend them. That’s why this country is so f’ed up,” and, “Sounds to me like she was referring to the gorillas,” the report states.
SOURCE: EURweb.com
Article Courtesy of EURweb
First Picture Courtesy of Jamie A. MacDonald and Getty Images
Second Picture Courtesy of Dan Reynolds Photography and Getty Images
Video Courtesy of WGCL-TV Atlanta and YouTube
Atlanta TV Meteorologist Under Hot Water After Allegedly Referring Black Men to Gorillas was originally published on wzakcleveland.com