One C-SPAN caller had their time cut (mercifully) short after they referred to the Black and Asian guest panelists as “colored people.”
Ebony McMorris, a White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, and Nicholas Wu, a Politico congressional reporter, appeared on Washington Journal Monday to discuss the week’s news headlines. But host Pedro Echevarria had to interrupt one caller from Tennessee who used a derogatory racial term against his guests, NextShark
reported“I want to know if we can cut out some of these liberal things that are going on in America, just like on the TV now, we have two minorities. And I’m not against you minorities…” the caller said before Echevarria interjected.
“Caller, that shouldn’t be a factor. The guests we invite to our program we did invite, so what’s your question or comment for them, please?” Echevarria responded.
“When I was a little boy, listen, I’m 83 years old. I was a little boy, the colored people …” the caller continued before being stopped by Echevarria.
“OK, we’re going to stop it there,” Echevarria said. “Apologies for that.”
The moment gained more attention after Benjamin Pu of NBC News shared the clip on Twitter to applaud the host and panelists’ “restraint.”
“”when I was younger, I could be as racist & awful as I wanted to be & no one said sh*t to me. Why can we go back to that?” is a hell of a life philosophy,” one user wrote in response.
“Anyone who is a “product of their time” should also be a product of all the times they’ve lived through,” added someone else.
Wu responded to the clip and gave a special shoutout to Echevarria saying, “Props to Pedro too for being the most patient host I’ve ever seen on TV.”
McNorris did the same while offering what was going through her head during the awkward exchange.
“I was trying to hold it in, but I promise you I felt all my ancestors rush through my body,” she tweeted. “[Wu] was right Pedro was a master at intercepting that. Next time the response may be different.”