CNN host Ashleigh Banfield on Wednesday told off a black Baltimore councilman for mentioning the N-word when he admonished her colleague for using the word “thug” to describe people on the streets of his city.
After CNN’s Erin Burnett repeatedly justified the use of the word “thug” on Tuesday night, Councilman Carl Stokes told her she might as well “call them niggers.”
Interviewed by Banfield on Wednesday, Stokes restated his point that simply calling the clashes the work of “thugs” was callous and mistaken.
“In terms of healing, which we have not begun in many ways in this town, you don’t start by calling them names,” he said.
Banfield, who is white, then took a moment to explain to Stokes that the word “nigger” was offensive for her to hear.
“I was watching Erin’s show last night, and I was livid,” she told him. “I have to say, you’re a leader. And so many people have said, don’t say it in rap, don’t say it so loosely, don’t assume you can say it because you’re one color and another color can’t.”
“It’s just so painful to hear it no matter what color we are and I’m glad you decided not to use it on this show,” she added.
Stokes did not respond to her remarks as Banfield moved on to discuss root causes of the unrest.
Watch the clip:
