Rochester NY Radio: Kimberly & Beck Fired From WAIO-FM

Classic rock WAIO 95.1 FM in Rochester NY has fired the hosts of its afternoon show over racist comments made on air Tuesday.

Robert J. Morgan, president of the Upstate New York market for iHeartMedia, told the Democrat & Chronicle that Radio 95.1 Kimberly Ray and Barry Beck, known as “Kimberly & Beck,” were fired Wednesday morning.

“We made the decision to terminate Kimberly and Beck yesterday as soon as we learned of their comments and informed them early this morning," Morgan said. "We will not tolerate this kind of behavior, which is antithetical to our core values and beliefs and to our commitment to our community and everyone in it.”

According to the D&C, Kimberly had repeatedly referred to the N-word live on air Tuesday while discussing Black Lives Matter and Rochester protests against police brutality after the death of George Floyd. The discussion centered on a local couple that appeared to be attacked by a group of looters early Sunday morning; video of the incident went viral, viewed more than 165,000 times.

“Okay, let me ask you a question. Were they acting N-word-ish?” Kimberly said on the iHeartMedia-owned radio station Tuesday. She did not use the explicit racial slur, but also asked if the attackers were acting “N-word-ly.”

“If you look like a thug and if you act like a thug, and you’ve got three on one beating up a white woman with a two-by-four, by God, you’re a thug,” Beck said.

The pair also discussed whether they can use the term “N-word,” and said “no one’s offended by that.”

Backlash quickly ensued on social media, with many demanding advertisers drop their sponsorship or for the pair to lose their jobs. A recording of their comments went viral, getting national attention.

A co-worker, Deanna King, who appears on “The Brother Wease Show” mornings on Radio 95.1, said she would refuse to continue working for iHeartMedia as long as Kimberly and Beck were still employed. She did not appear on Wednesday morning’s show, but addressed the situation on Twitter.