Halle Berry has called out a Buffalo, New York, radio DJ who compared Black women's varying skin tones to different shades of toast.
Rob Lederman was fired from 97 Rock's "Morning Bull Show" last week after he and his co-hosts spoke about using a toaster's settings to rate "the attractiveness" of Black women, including Berry, based on their skin tone. Taking to social media, the "X-Men" star blasted Lederman for his "disgusting" comments.
"It's ridiculous this type of nonsense is still being broadcasted across airwaves," Berry tweeted. "ALL Black women are beautiful and worthy, Rob Lederman. GTFOH."
During the controversial radio segment on Wednesday, Lederman, Rich "Bull" Gaenzler, and Chris Klein rated the attractiveness of Black women based on their skin tone.
"I would never go with a Serena Williams level, but I'm very comfortable at a Halle Berry level," Lederman said when asked how toasted he typically liked his bread.
"I need a little bit of mulatto still coming through," he added.
When asked about CBS News’ Gayle King, Lederman said she was "not even on my toaster level."
The radio station removed audio of the show from its website, but not before it began making the rounds on social media. In response, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute promptly pulled its advertising from the station.
"Immediately upon learning about this exchange, Roswell Park, the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, and the Ride for Roswell pulled all ads and marketing from this station," the organization said in a statement. "The comments this morning conflict with our values and culture. We embrace actions that respect the dignity and equity of all people, and forcefully reject any and all forms of racism."
Lederman has since apologized for his "foolish and ignorant" comments, although social media remains skeptical.
"After listening to what I said, and how it must have sounded to others, I was horrified," he wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account. "I 100% understand why people are justifiably angry. I made a mistake and it's hard to look myself in the mirror, but I want to acknowledge it. I apologize from the deepest depths of who I am."
Lederman said he had reached out to community leaders, including the NAACP, as well as the mayor's office, "to seek their guidance and teaching."
"Please know my comments were ignorant but not meant to be hurtful, but I know I, as well as many others, need to learn from this," he added. "This is a great opportunity to get communication started so that this mistake can heal and not divide. I will make every effort to use what I am learning as a platform to better understand and hopefully help others, while helping myself."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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