Oklahoma, United States 28 Aug (ANA) - Alex Housden made a tearful on-air apology the day after she likened black colleague Jason Hackett to a gorilla at the end of a segment about their local zoo.

 

Housden groveled as she said sorry to Jason Hackett on Oklahoma’s KOCO-TV last Thursday. The day before, she commented on a segment about a gorilla at Oklahoma City’s zoo by telling Hackett: ‘Kinda looks like you.’

 

 Breaking down in tears as soon as she began talking, Housden said: ‘I’m here this morning, because I want to apologize. ‘Not only to my co-worker Jason, but to our entire community.

 

 ‘I said something yesterday that was inconsiderate, it was inappropriate and I hurt people. ‘And i want you to know I understand how much I hurt you out there.’ 

 

Turning to Hackett, she continued: ‘I know how much I hurt you ‘I love you so much. You are one of my best friends for the last year and a half and I would never do anything on purpose to hurt you ‘And I love our community. 

 

And I want you to know that from the bottom of my heart I apologize for what I said. ‘I know it was wrong and I am so sorry.’

 

 Housden then let Hackett speak, with the anchor saying that he ‘accepted and appreciated’ his colleague’s apology. 

 

He added: ‘Alex is one of my best friends. ‘What she said yesterday was wrong. It cut deep or me and a lot of you in the community. ‘I want this to be a teachable moment… words matter, there’s no doubt about that.’ 

 

Housden was widely condemned after last Wednesday’s comment, with thousands of posters on social media calling for her to be fired from her job.(ANA)

FA/ANA/28 August 2019--------