MSNBC will apologize for its coverage of Cinco de Mayo on “Way Too Early,” Maynard Institute’s Richard Prince reports in his Journal-Isms column.
As the Huffington Post and BuzzFeed point out, the show featured a number of “cringeworthy” Mexican stereotypes. Louis Burgdorf was wearing a sombrero, shaking a maraca and taking tequila shots. Thomas Roberts, the show’s host, had a sombrero, several bottles of tequila and plastic margarita glasses on the table in front of him.
“This is simply the worst example I have seen of a discriminatory stereotypical portrayal of any community by any media,” says Hugo Balta, a former MSNBC producer, now the the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. “The fact that this was done by a news organization is abominable.”
Balta spoke with “Way Too Early” executive producer Alex Korson, who apologized, “expressed his remorse at how the producers allowed the segment and behavior to continue.” Korson said an on-air apology will be made.
>Update: “On Monday, Cinco De Mayo, ‘Way Too Early’ made sarcastic references to the way some Americans celebrate the holiday. It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for the ill-advised references,” MSNBC said in a statement. The show will also apologize on the air tomorrow.
Watch a segment from the show after the jump.