Lady Gaga performed a truly exceptional tribute to Julie Andrews at the 2015 Oscars, and the vocal prowess she demonstrated onstage was praised by many—including one local news anchor in Ohio.
Now, Fox 8 Cleveland's Kristi Capel is apologizing for inadvertently using a racial slur on Monday's newscast as she tried to compliment Gaga's singing abilities. She said (as shown in a Vine posted by DeRay Mckesson) that it was "hard to really hear her [Gaga's] voice with all the jiggab-- music that she, whatever you want to call it, jiggab--..."
Capel's co-anchor Wayne Dawson appeared visibly uncomfortable as she continued, saying of Gaga, "She has a gorgeous voice. I never knew!"
Viewers were quick to tweet about Capel's use of the offensive term, and within a few minutes, the former beauty queen's slip-up had gone viral. As soon as Capel became aware of her gaffe, she began to respond individually to offended users on Twitter. "I do apologize if I offended you, I didn't know the meaning behind it or that it was even a word," she wrote multiple times. "Thank you for watching."
Fox 8 news director Andy Fishman said in an email to the Daily News: "Kristy apologized on the air shortly after making the remark. She did not know what the word meant but that is no excuse for using it...We have spoken with her and are confident nothing like this will happen again."
Deadspin was first to report Capel's on-air incident.