A Latino-focused media watchdog is calling on KTLA to force its morning show anchor to apologize on air for a seemingly racist comment made last week about Latinos.
Last Monday, KTLA 5 Morning News co-anchor Chris Schauble insinuated that bond hearings are as common to Latinos as baptisms and graduations, the National Hispanic Media Coalition said Monday.
While airing a segment in which reporter Allie Mac Kay interviewed the manager and employees of El Coyote Mexican Restaurant, Schauble appeared to jokingly add "bond hearings" to a list of common life events the mostly Latino employees attend together.
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Mac Kay: "These employees here at the lovely El Coyote, some of them have been here, quite frankly, longer than some of you at the desk have been alive. This man Billy, he has been here for over 30 years, you are the manager here, what is it like? It's a total family atmosphere right?"
Restaurant Manager: Right. that's what keeps us all together, because it's such a family, we know each other. We know their songs, their daughters, their parents, we go to their weddings, their baptismals, we share all our good times together …"
Schauble: "… bond hearings."
Alex Nogales, the president and CEO of the nonprofit watchdog group, said the top brass at KTLA had reprimanded Schauble and compelled the anchor to apologize to the employees at El Coyote and take a sensitivity training course.
But for Nogales, this is not enough.
"The guy said it on the air, he should apologize on the air," Nogales told TheWrap. "He said something stupid, he doesn't have to describe it as a stupid, but he has to go on the air and apologize for the inappropriate comment."
A spokesperson for KTLA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But soon after offended viewers began calling the station, Mac Kay repudiated the comment in a Facebook post.
"I didn't hear it, but just talked to him," she wrote. "The anchors' mics are on the whole segment, he knew it was — he was just being irreverent and is BEYOND mortified that people were offended."
KTLA pulled the clip of the segment from its website, but you can watch it here.