Matt Pieper, the anchor for News12 The Bronx who was fired last week for insulting parents and welfare recipients, has taken to twitter to explain what happened.
On TwitLonger, Pieper wrote, “As a professional who has spent his entire career delivering the news, I understand the importance of sharing the facts. The situation that transpired on September 24th was extremely unfortunate and I feel the need to communicate what occurred and clear the air.”
Pieper didn’t know his mic was hot when he told reporter Amy Yensi, was reporting on the need for school crossing guards in certain areas of the Bronx, “And Dave wants you to also mention that parents do their f**king jobs and walk their little kids to school on their own and not rely on everyone else kind of like people rely on government assistance for their entire lives.”
Saying he is a “stalwart advocate for equality and diversity in the workplace,” Pieper writes “These were not my own thoughts or profanities. In relaying that information, I made a poor decision in my choice of words and for that I apologize. I could have communicated what I was asked to get across in a different manner and under the pressure of doing my job in real time I made a mistake.”
Read the entire message after the jump.
Here’s what he wrote:
As a professional who has spent his entire career delivering the news, I understand the importance of sharing the facts. The situation that transpired on September 24th was extremely unfortunate and I feel the need to communicate what occurred and clear the air. The incident was broadcast accidentally when we were supposed to be in a commercial break, not on the air. Someone in the control room spoke into my earpiece and asked me to relay a message to our reporter out in the field. These were not my own thoughts or profanities. In relaying that information, I made a poor decision in my choice of words and for that I apologize. I could have communicated what I was asked to get across in a different manner and under the pressure of doing my job in real time I made a mistake. I have been a stalwart advocate for equality and diversity in the workplace, within my own family and in my community. I apologize to anyone I offended and assure you that this situation—which has cost me my job—was truly just a mistake in relaying a message, and not a representation of my views or character.
Here’s his tweet:
As a professional who has spent his entire career delivering the news, I understand the importance of (cont) http://t.co/Ud9CUXMq7R
— Matt Pieper (@MattPieper) September 29, 2014