BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Following racist comments made on the Morning Bull radio show on 97 Rock on Wednesday, Rob Lederman has released a public statement on Twitter apologizing for the incident.
Lederman was terminated from his role at the station Wednesday evening, and two other hosts of the show were suspended, after several local advertisers announced they were pulling their affiliations with the radio station.
Lederman created a Twitter account on Thursday, tweeting a public apology as his first tweet.
— Rob Lederman (@LedermanRob) March 25, 2021
The statement reads in part:
I want to sincerely apologize for hurting people with my foolish and ignorant comments yesterday. Ater listening to what I said, and how it must have sounded to others, I was horrified. 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.
In Wednesday's Morning Bull show, Lederman compared toast to Black women's skin tones. The show stayed up on 97 Rock's website for several hours, and was removed after public outcry on social media.
Didn’t hear this live but internet keeps receipts. @97RockBuffalo morning hosts compared how they like their toast to black women’s skin tone. So just in case y’all missed it too, take a listen pic.twitter.com/6nVolu5a23
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) March 24, 2021
Women from Buffalo's Black community are reacting to the comments, saying they hope this becomes a teachable moment in the continuing conversations about race.
“Let's tell everybody why this is wrong, so we don't do it anymore,” declared Porsha Ari Parson, Buffalo resident. “It’s insulting — colorism was birthed by racism.”
Cumulus Media, the owner of 97 Rock, issued the following statement Wednesday:
CUMULUS MEDIA operates from a clearly-defined set of programming principles and there is no question that Rob Lederman’s comments made on The Morning Bull Show are in direct violation of those principles. We swiftly terminated him and suspended the remainder of the show’s on-air talent. We apologize, and deeply regret the incident.
