06-04-2026
In an unpublished opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for an employer that fired an employee for offensive remarks. Barbie Bassett worked for WLBT, a Gray Media Group station in Mississippi. Bassett worked as the morning news anchor and co-host for a mid-morning show. WBLT required its anchors to avoid any conduct that might “reflect negatively on [the TV station] or its reputation in the community.” Anchors were also restricted from acting in a way that could “degrade” them or subject them to “public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule, or tend to shock or offend the community.”
Bassett, a White woman, referred to a Black reporter’s grandmother using an offensive term on-air, according to the station, after receiving viewer and staff complaints about Bassett’s use of language. WLBT issued a written warning to Bassett based on the complaints, informing her that the comment violated WLBT’s hostile work environment policy. The warning said the term was “a negative depiction used during slavery to refer to an African American Grandmother” and it was “insensitive and inappropriate” to use during a broadcast. Less than six months later, Bassett and her co-anchors discussed rap artist Snoop Dogg after a segment was aired about him. According to the station, Bassett again used offensive language, repeating a saying that is attributed to Snoop Dogg. Employees again complained that the phrase was a racial slur. The comment also received online criticism, viewer complaints, and national media attention. WLBT fired Bassett.
Bassett sued Gray Media for racial discrimination, arguing her race was a motivating factor in its decision to end her employment. She asserted that WLBT failed to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for her termination, and that it would not have fired her if she had not been White. The company said it fired Bassett for using “racially offensive language on air twice.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employer may terminate an employee for making racially inappropriate remarks, and such a reason was not discriminatory. Even if WLBT was wrong about whether the remarks were racially inappropriate and Bassett’s comments were not offensive, she still failed to show that the station’s reasons for firing her were racially motivated.
Takeaways: Employers can terminate employees for violating company policy. WLBT’s written warning to Bassett helped establish its non-discriminatory motivation. The appellate court upheld summary judgment because the employer’s evidence showed complaints about her conduct and notice to the plaintiff.