To celebrate temperatures dipping into the 70s after a sweltering weekslong heatwave, Little Rock KATV anchor Chris May and meteorologist Barry Brandt wore Afro wigs — and viewer reception was chilly.
The NY Post reports the station quickly suspended the two white news anchors, and canned their boss, after the broadcasters wore the African American-style hairpieces during an evening weather report, which aired at 10 pm on September 16.
“Swift action was important to hold the responsible parties accountable,” a spokesperson told AdWeek of the newscast.
During the inflammatory segment, dubbed “return to the 70s,” May and Brandt sported wigs modeled after Afros, a hairstyle popular nearly five decades ago. May later shared a Twitter photo of their controversial cosplay, which has since been deleted.
The fraught forecast caught the attention of African American activist Dr. Anika Whitfield, who issued a complaint to WATV, in which she wrote that the stunt was a perpetuation of “systemic racism” to have a “European American man” wear an Afro wig.
After receiving no response, Whitfield reached out to John Seabers, a Sinclair Broadcast Group vice president and group manager in charge of local stations in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.
He issued the following apology: “We apologize to all viewers who were rightfully offended by the segment, and we promise to enact and enforce new measures to prevent future incidents from occurring.”
Sinclair has since indefinitely suspended both May and Brandt, who have worked at the station for more than 20 years. Sinclair Broadcast Group also fired their boss, longtime news director Nick Genty.
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