As families and volunteers in Putnam County, Tennessee were sifting through rubble this week, Nashville radio personalities were on air making comments about tornado victims and the rural areas impacted by the devastating storm — comments listeners have since labeled "disgusting."
The Tennessean reports some listeners believe hosts were calling the people of Putnam County uneducated during the segment, which was based on a conversation with first responders.
iHeartMedia's WRVW 107.5 The River issued a written apology Thursday, stating hosts "did a poor job of providing proper context for where this messaging came from or why this conversation was happening in the first place."
At least 25 people died during the tornado, including 18 victims from Putnam County.
The comments were made during the "Woody and Jim" show, which has been on air for 21 years.
During the segment, radio personalities discussed the tornado and how more deaths happened in Putnam County, despite Nashville being more densely populated.
Hosts and co-hosts said the tornado increased its intensity after leaving Nashville, which was partially to blame. However, comments were later made about the differences between Nashville and its surrounding communities.
Some of those comments led listeners to believe hosts were calling people in Putnam County uneducated. However, as the apology mentions, "the word 'uneducated' was simply never uttered."
Here's what was said by radio personality Zac Woodward during the show:
"They (first responders) also said that they see more deaths in those areas because people don't have as much education or money or resources to protect themselves. And if you think about the structure of the homes in more of those rural communities, a lot of them are pre-manufactured homes, so they don't really have a safe place. If a tornado comes through, the whole house is going."
The hosts talked to first responders for research, and someone they talked to made a "broad generalization" about rural areas, according to the apology.
"We then relayed that information on the air, and in the moment did not think about how it may have been perceived by others," the apology reads.
The apology states that the comments made on air were referring to "storm education" rather than general education.
"Please know that this is in no way what we were attempting to say, and if that is how it is perceived (then) we are truly sorry," the apology reads. "This was a mistake, and a failure on our part to serve a community that we love."
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