Update (May 7, 2019):  Journalist Mary Bubala is out of a job following her implication that Black women do not make good mayors. WJZ confirmed her firing to The Baltimore Sun.

“Mary Bubala is no longer a WJZ-TV employee. The station apologizes to its viewers for her remarks,” the station said in a statement.

The firing comes less than a week after Bubala asked a Black panelist an insensitive question during an on-air segment.

“We’ve had three female, African-American mayors in a row,” Bubala said. “They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned, though. Is this a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore City forward?”

Bubala confirmed her firing on Facebook.

“WJZ was forced to let me go,” she wrote. “I am saddened and shocked by this decision. Baltimore City has been my home for 25 years and I treasure and am so grateful for the relationships I have made with the people of Baltimore during this time. I fully intend to fight to restore my reputation because I’ve invested my heart and soul in my work and my city. Thank you, Baltimore for all of your support during this difficult period of time. It means so much to me.”

Journalist Nicki Mayo’s tweet helped a video of the segment go viral but she does not revel in Bubala’s unemployment.

"Firing or letting her go does nothing to relieve the greater problem here. So, I don’t take any joy in another journalist not working,” Mayo said. “This was another ceremonial falling on the sword that continues cut a serious hole in efforts for newsroom inclusion and diversity.”

Mayo believes Bubala’s comment is an example of how intersectionality affects Black women.

Original : Emmy Award-winning TV anchor Mary Bubala was forced to apologize for racist comments she made on live TV after Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh stepped down on Thursday.

"The question I have for you," Bubala said to a Black female panelist on WJZ-TV Thursday afternoon, "We have had three female African American mayors in a row. They were all passionate public servants. Two resigned though. Is it a signal that a different kind of leadership is needed to move Baltimore city forward?"

The clip quickly made its way across the internet, and dozens of Twitter users questioned how Bubala could make such a statement on live TV. 


"Hey @MaryWJZ, we all know that you knew better than to make the charged racist statements you made tonight but u did it anyway, and with such confidence. It’s unacceptable @wjz needs to take appropriate measures," wrote Twitter user @wrldtrvlr_.

"Not only did u insult the majority of ur viewers, and not only did u not think about all the little girls that were watching and what message u were sending them but u further stigmatized a group of women that have been historically disenfranchised not only by those institutions but from those institutions. @wjz needs to fire u."

Other Twitter users noted that literally hundreds of white men have been convicted of corruption or impeached from office throughout America's long history, yet similar questions are never asked about that group. 

Bubala has been at WJZ for more than 15 years and gained notoriety for her coverage of the Freddie Gray protests and for interviewing victims of R. Kelly's sexual assaults.

She has not released an official apology but wrote in the comments of two Twitter posts, saying she was "very sorry."

"The way my question came out was not what I intended to ask because race and gender are irrelevant to one's leadership abilities," she wrote on two different Twitter threads criticizing her for her language. "I combined two questions in my head during a live interview and said something I didn't mean to."

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pughmary bubalaTV anchorWJZ-TV