Good Morning America coanchor Amy Robach has apologized for using an outdated racial slur on-air during the ABC morning show’s Monday, August 22, episode. See the controversial moment in the video above.
While covering Zendaya’s rumored role as Mary Jane Watson in the forthcoming film Spider-Man: Homecoming, the 43-year-old journalist said, “We all know Hollywood has received recent and quite a bit of criticism for casting white actors in what one might assume should be a role reserved for colored people.”
Moments after uttering “colored people,” several viewers took to social media to criticize Robach.
“Amy Robach … please tell [me] you didn’t just say ‘colored people’ when discussing roles in 2016!!! Nooooooo Amy!!!” one user tweeted. Another added, “I might be hallucinating, but did I just hear ‘colored people’ on @GMA? Wow, it’s too early to be so offensive.”
On Monday afternoon, Robach issued a statement to apologize for using the term. “This morning during a segment about Hollywood casting, I mistakenly said ‘colored people’ instead of ‘people of color.’ I sincerely apologize. It was a mistake and is not at all a reflection of how I feel or speak in my everyday life,” she said.
This isn’t the first time Zendaya, 19, has been the subject of a racially insensitive comment. Last year, Giuliana Rancic caused a firestorm as she attempted to joke about the “Something New” singer’s red carpet look at the 2015 Academy Awards. The Fashion Police cohost quipped that Zendaya’s dreadlock hairstyle smelled like “weed” and “patchouli oil.” The insensitive joke ultimately led to the exit of the E! talk show’s cohosts Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin.
