White TV anchor apologises to black colleague after comparing him to a gorilla

28 August 2019 - 13:02 By Jessica Levitt

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Alex Housden apologised to her co-anchor Jason Hackett.
Image: Twitter/Newsweek

A TV anchor at Oklahoma City TV publicly apologised after comparing her black colleague to a gorilla during a broadcast last week.

The New York Post reports that Alex Housden ended a segment about a gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo by comparing it to her longtime co-host Jason Hackett.

Newsweek reports the comment immediately drew widespread criticism from many on social media, with the comments being called racist.

In video footage which has now gone viral, Housden was seated next to Hackett and apologised.

Hackett said that while they were friends, the comment “cut deep”.

White TV anchor Alex Housden apologizes on air for saying her black KOCO TV co-anchor, Jason Hackett, looks like a gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo.pic.twitter.com/4N1BBs8o4K
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 27, 2019

The apology was met with mixed reaction, with many still calling for Housden to be fired.

WTF!!!

A White Local TV Anchor In Oklahoma City Says Her African-American Co-Anchor Sitting Next To Her Looks Like A gorilla At The Zoo.

and this stupid mf accepted her apology! smfh!
Why tf does this hoe still have a job?@AlexHousden #AlexHousden @koconews #koconews pic.twitter.com/4i9Hn453H4
— Cherelle Fiosa🇲🇽🇺🇸✊🏾👑 (@CFiosa) August 28, 2019

That moment when u are a black male tv anchor & she is a white female tv anchor with u. On live TV u are both doing a segment on a gorilla in a zoo & white female anchor says to black male anchor, ‘it kinda looks like you’. Explain that effin moment to me. https://t.co/LmYgyGsvW0
— Blues and Abstract Truth (@barnor_hesse) August 28, 2019

What’s she looking for?
A gig on Fox News?

TV anchor apologizes after comparing black cohost to a gorilla - CNN https://t.co/cpq4tMnbW3
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) August 28, 2019

"It was racist."

To be fair, she may have said that at some point in her tearful apology, but it should have been first.#OwnYourRacistShit https://t.co/XXjfV8bOE5
— Marsha Warfield (@MarshaWarfield) August 28, 2019