MSNBC's Cinco De Mayo Don't: Host Celebrates by Drinking Tequila While Wearing Sombrero
Regardless of how much advice Americans are given on how to celebrate Cinco de Mayo without being ethnically insensitive, is seems there will always be people who manage to mess it up.
On the Monday edition of MSNBC's morning show "Way Too Early," Cooler correspondent Louis Burgdorf wore a sombrero and pretended to be drunk. He started off by taking a shot of tequila and saying, "Olé." The tequila was described as his "go-go juice" before Burgdorf introduced a clip from the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Burgdorf was told he had to take a shot whenever he spoke about the dinner. Thomas Roberts, the main host, then started dancing to Latin music while shaking a maraca.
The camera then cuts back to Burgdorf, danced around to music and played drunk again. Cue more maracas (which aren't Mexican) and a basic disregard for any accurate portrayal of Mexicans or Mexican Americans.
As CNN puts it, "While it may seem like all fun and games, these costumes essentially reduce cultural and traditional costumes to a caricature."
One screenshot shows Burgdorf drinking from a bottle while the words Cinco De Mayo Mexican Heritage Celebration appear below him.
Many people work on this show, and it seems surprising that not one thought this was a bad way to approach Cinco de Mayo. Perhaps what's worse is that MSNBC still has the clip up on its website:
However, the "Way Too Early" website now has an apology up. ""On Monday, Cinco De Mayo, 'Way Too Early' made sarcastic references to the way some Americans celebrate the holiday. It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for the ill-advised references."
Of course, this isn't an isolated incident. Good Morning America also got in on the stereotyping action:
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