‘Thugs.’ ‘N-word-ish.’ Radio hosts fired for racist comments amid unrest in New York

Hosts of a popular New York radio show were fired this week after making racist comments on air, according to media reports.

It’s the second time Kimberly Ray and Barry Beck have been fired from a station due to derogatory remarks on air, WROC reported.

During a segment talking about a white woman and her husband being assaulted by several men following a Black Lives Matter protest, Ray said to her co-host, “OK, let me ask you a question. Were they acting n-word-ish?”

“They were acting thugerly-like, I think. They’re thugs,” Beck responded.

“If you look like a thug and if you act like a thug, and you’ve got three on one beating up a white woman with a two-by-four, by God, you’re a thug,” Beck later said.

A third person on air with Ray and Beck told the hosts, “You can’t say that” and apologized to listeners. Beck replied back, “No one’s offended.”

“I don’t appreciate the double standard,” Ray said after being told she can’t say the N-word. She also said, “They were acting that way.”

Neither Beck or Ray directly said the N-word, but Ray said “N-word-ish” or “N-word-ly” numerous times.

It led to her and Beck’s firings from the iHeartradio station.

“We made the decision to terminate Kimberly and Beck yesterday as soon as we learned of their comments and informed them early this morning,” Robert J. Morgan, president of the upstate New York market for iHeartMedia, told the Democrat & Chronicle. “We will not tolerate this kind of behavior, which is anti-ethical to our core values and beliefs and to our commitment to our community and everyone in it.”

Following the remarks on air, many people posted their negative reaction to the comments on social media. Many called for their firings or sponsors to pull advertising from the station.

Deanna King, who also appears on 95.1, said early Wednesday morning she was “appalled at what was said” on the show.

“I have never and would never spew such racist hate,” King tweeted. “I’ve told management I won’t work at a company that employs people like this. I’m raising my children to love everyone and stand up for what is right. I will, too.”

In 2014, Ray and Beck were fired from a station due to “hateful remarks against the transgender community,” WROC reported.

Four months after they were fired, Radio 95.1 hired them to host afternoon weekdays, according to Syracuse.com.