ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A pair of controversial radio hosts in Rochester have been fired over racially charged comments made during Tuesday’s show.
Kimberly Ray and Barry Beck, of Kimberly and Beck on 95.1 FM, were discussing the beating of a woman Saturday night. During the segment, Ray asked if the black men involved were — in her words — acting “N-word-ly.”
Ray didn’t use the actual N-word, but said “N-wordly.”
In a press release early Wednesday iHeartRadio officials said:
The firing came one day after the company that owns 95.1, iHeartRadio, wrote on Twitter: “We believe the only way to drive lasting positive change is for people to come together, respect differences, listen to all voices and foster understanding.”
The Kimberly and Beck show is not new to controversy.
Back in March, when the coronavirus was just beginning to hit their listening area, Beck said COVID-19 was “the KKK of diseases,” and then said “white people matter.”
Beck’s comments came after a caller said that deaths related to the virus were mostly white people, and that “very few black people have died from the virus.”
On the contrary, data shows New York state’s death toll from COVID-19 has been disproportionately high in black and Hispanic communities, especially in New York City.
The pair was also fired from their previous station back in 2014 for “hateful remarks against the transgender community.”
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