A US TV host has made a tearful apology to her black co-host after comparing him to a gorilla in a shocking segment.
Despite calls for her to be fired, Alex Housden from Oklahoma City's KOCO-TV will keep her job after telling her co-host Jason Hackett that a gorilla at the local zoo "kinda looks like you".
The pair were presenting a story about a gorilla named Fin at the Oklahoma City Zoo and spoke over a close up shot of the ape staring into the camera.
"He's a resident at the Oklahoma City Zoo and this week the zoo's ape caretaker took over their Instagram and we are all loving that they did," Housden said.
"Now as you can see, Fin was fascinated by the camera."
"Definitely ready for his close up," Hackett replied.
"He kinda looks like you," Housden joked, followed by hesitant laughter from Hackett.
After an immediate backlash, Housden fronted the cameras the following day to apologise to a gracious Hackett.
"I said something yesterday that was inconsiderate, that was inappropriate, and I hurt people," Housden told her co-host.
"I hurt people. I want you to know I understand how much I hurt you out there and how much I hurt you."
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Housden went on to tell Hackett that she was humiliated, that she loved him and that he had been "one of her best friends for the past year and a half".
Hackett accepted the tearful apology, saying: "The lesson here is that words matter. We have to understand the stereotypes, we have to understand each other's backgrounds and the words that hurt, the words that cut deep."
Housden's apology wasn't enough for many viewers, who contacted the station demanding that she be sacked and took to Twitter to share their outrage.
