WTAE, a Pittsburgh, Pa. television news station, fired longtime anchorwoman Wendy Bell for racial Facebook comments she posted on March 21. Bell, who worked with the station for 18 years, made racial speculations about the profiles of gunmen who killed five adults and an unborn baby on March 9.
In her Facebook post, which has since been taken down, Bell presumes that the March 9 gunmen are African American, even though no information about suspects had been released at that time. She goes on to state assumptions she has made in regards to her conjecture that the men are African American. She then describes an African American busboy at a restaurant where she and her husband dined in a manner that some found condescending.
Here are screen shots of the original post:
The March 9 murders occurred in Wilkinson, Pa. around 11 p.m. at a family barbecue. Eight people were shot and of those eight, five were killed. Two gunmen approached and attacked from different areas, shooting the family in their backyard while they were having a barbecue. Kelly Brennan of WTAE reported that night that the police had no idea about any suspects and that "there was no suspect description." Authorities still currently have not released any information about potential suspects.
Bell has since apologized for her comments, removed them from her Facebook page, and deleted her page entirely. "I sincerely apologize for the post about the Wilkinson mass shooting," Bell said. "I now understand that some of the words I chose were insensitive and could be viewed as racist. I regret offending anyone."
WTAE TV President and General Manager Charles W. Wolfertz III issued an on-air apology, stating that Bell showed "an egregious lack of judgment" and that "Wendy is sorry for the words she chose, and so are we."
There were mixed responses in regards to Bell's post. A Facebook group called "Demand WTAE Hold Wendy Bell Accountable" was created with intentions to bring to light and spread awareness about the racist remarks Bell made on Facebook.
After Bell was fired, another Facebook group was created called "Boycott Wtae-Bring Wendy Bell Back." The description of the group states, "Bring Wendy back to WTAE! It's called freedom of speech and does not reflect racism or hate!!! She was speaking from the heart!! It's unfair to fire her!!"
Many comments from the public have stated that Bell's termination was unjust because she has the right to free speech. Other comments were that Bell was insensitive and racist in assuming that the gunmen were black without any prior knowledge or information stating so.
However, these comments were not the first controversial remarks that Bell has made. She also made a comment in 2010 on the air about her African American co-anchor Andrew Stockey that was considered racially insensitive as well.
The video below shows Bell jokingly saying that she wants to use whatever sunscreen Stockey uses.
After these comments, Bell issued an apology on the WTAE website.
"The other night, I made an off-the-cuff comment to my co-anchor, Andrew Stockey, after one of our news stories," Bell said. "The words I said didn't come out the right way, and as such, offended some of you, which leaves me deeply troubled. I would never want to offend ANYONE, as my words clearly did. I hope you will accept my sincere apology."
After her recent termination, Bell stated that she believed she didn't get a "fair shake" from the station. She said that the story was about, "African-Americans being killed by other African-Americans," and not about her.
"It makes me sick," Bell said to The Associated Press. "What matters is what's going on in America, and it is the death of black people in this country. I live next to three war-torn communities in the city of Pittsburgh, that I love dearly. My stories, they struck a nerve. They touched people, but it's not enough. More needs to be done. The problem needs to be addressed."
According to her bio on the WTAE website, which has been deleted, Bell joined the station in 1998. She is from Calabassas, Calif. and lives in Pittsburgh with her cardiologist husband and and five sons. She has a master's degree from University of Missouri-Columbia and has won 21 Emmy Awards, "with two Edward R. Murrow awards and a National Headliner -- winning first place for an expose on airline ticket prices."
Wendy Bell photo: http://www.imediaethics.org/pittsburgh-wendy-bell-facebook-fired/
Facebook screen shots: http://heavy.com/news/2016/03/wendy-bell-wtae-pittsburgh-news-anchor-fired-racist-facebook-post-wilkinsburg-shooting-photos-age-bio-husband-family/
Sunscreen comment apology: http://www.ftvlive.com/todays-news/2016/3/24/wendy-bell-you-pissed-off-half-of-pittsburgh-whats-next
Interview with The Associated Press: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_COOKOUT_AMBUSH_ANCHORWOMAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
WTAE bio: http://www.wtae.com/Wendy-Bell/7704870
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