Local Radio Hosts Fired After Racist On-Air Remarks
Written by Jazzy T on June 3, 2020
Kimberly and Beck afternoon hosts on 95.1 FM in Rochester, NY have been fired after referring to black people as “N-Word” and “Thugs” live on the air.
iHeartMedia & Radio 95.1 made the decision to terminate Kimberly and Beck yesterday as soon as we learned of their comments. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior, which is antithetical to our core values and beliefs and to our commitment to our community and everyone in it.
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) June 3, 2020
Many people are questioning why IHeart Radio ever hired the duo in the first place.
Kimberly and Beck were fired from an Entercom in 2014 after making anti-transgender comments on Rochester’s “The Breakfast Buzz” radio show on 98.9 The BUZZ.
I met Kimberly in 2018 during a PSA shoot with radio jocks from other Rochester stations. Let’s just say it was an uncomfortable situation.
Click to watch the video here.
On Monday, IHeart Stations across the country (including Radio 95.1) issued the following statement in support of the peaceful protesters who are speaking out against police brutality and the unjust treatment of black people in America.
On Tuesday afternoon Kimberly & Beck diverted from the company statement and decided to widen the racial divide in this community by using racist rhetoric live on the air. Hear it for yourself in the Twitter Video below.
Wow..this is the saddest radio conversation I have ever heard. Whoever Kimberly and beck are, they should be fired and never work on the radio again . This was on radio 95.1 Rochester NY. pic.twitter.com/PtvJU9qaQe
— SXTWLVE (@SirKingsleeey) June 3, 2020
On the same day these racist remarks were made, 95.1 Radio posted a black square on Instagram with caption #BlackOutTuesday which was an industry-wide gesture to offer support for the Black Lives Matter Movement.
The Rochester Association of Black Journalists released the following statement and suggestions:
RABJ is committed to diversity and fairness in the media. To suggest people were acting “N-word-ly” is deplorable, insensitive, and detrimental to our community–particularly during the current climate. These remarks by Kimberly and Beck were clearly racist and should not be on the airwaves. We hope that this incident serves as a clear example for the desperate need for more diversity on the iHeart radio stations in Rochester.
We are grateful that Bob Morgan of IHeart radio has taken action and fired Kimberly Ray and Barry Beck for their outrageous behavior. In addition, we request that iHeart Media:
Ensure that Ray and Beck are will not be hired at another iHeartMedia station
Provide diversity training for all staff where materials are made public
Hold a local or national search for diverse on-air personalities to replace Ray and Beck.
An internal agreement signed by all staff to remind them of iHeart’s Standard Operating Procedures
