MSNBC apologizes for cringe-worthy Cinco de Mayo segment

MSNBC/Huffington Post

MSNBC apologizes for cringe-worthy Cinco de Mayo segment
(Image credit: MSNBC/Huffington Post)

Way Too Early host Thomas Roberts made the poor decision yesterday of airing a special Cinco de Mayo segment in which a sombrero-clad producer pretended to get drunk off tequila while shaking a maraca. Hugo Balta, the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, called it the "the worst example I have seen of discriminatory stereotypical portrayal of any community by any media," prompting an apology from MSNBC.

"It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for the ill-advised references," the network said in a statement. The show's producer told Balta that all employees involved in the segment will be disciplined and ensured him that an incident like this will never happen again.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.