Commenting on Gaga, Cleveland anchor voices the sound of racism

ONE CAN NEVER predict the fallout from the Oscars. One year it's John Travolta's inability to pronouce a name and the next year it's a Cleveland news anchor's ability to pronounce a racial slur.

Cleveland.com, citing both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal, reported that WJW-TV-8 news anchor Kristi Capel got herself in hot water while trying to compliment Lady Gaga's performance of "Sound of Music" songs. Capel said, "It's hard to really hear [Gaga's] voice with all the jigaboo music that she does, or whatever you want to call it. She has a gorgeous voice - I never knew."

Jigaboo music? Seriously?

If news anchors still think that's an acceptable term, it's not surprising that diversity is still an issue, and it's amazing that "Glory" songwriters John Legend and Common didn't fly directly to Cleveland and slap Capel upside the head.

Even more amazing, Capel used the term - twice - while speaking with her co-anchor, Wayne Dawson, who is black.

According to the Beacon Journal, Dawson almost choked when Capel uttered the term.

Capel was not available for further comment, but WJW news director Andy Fishman did address the unfortunate word choice.

"She didn't even know what the word meant, which is not an excuse," Fishman told the Plain Dealer after the station's morning newscast yesterday. "We've spoken to her about this, and we're confident it won't happen again. From here, we'll handle it internally."

Fishman said that Capel would not be pulled off the air.

"She does feel horrible about this," he said, assuming she does know the meaning of the word horrible. "It's not who she is."

Billboard.com reported that Capel tweeted two apologies, first claiming she didn't know the meaning of the word and also saying she didn't know it was a word.

Note to news anchors: Don't make sounds that are not words, and don't use words for which you don't know the meaning.

Capel is a former Miss USA Miss Missouri. The almighty Wikipedia says that she has a B.S. degree (bachelor of science, or the other thing) from Evangel University in broadcasting and public relations, both of which are presently a problem for her.

Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal") has joined the cast of CBS's "Supergirl," the Hollywood Reporter is reporting.

Calista will play Cat Grant, a self-made media mogul, who's boss to Supergirl's alter-ego. Melissa Benoist (who loses Miles Teller to a pair of drumsticks in "Whiplash") plays Supergirl, with Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen and multitalented Broadway star Laura Benanti as Supergirl's mom.

Greg Berlanti ("Arrow," "Flash") and Ali Adler ("The New Normal") will pen the script and exec-produce. Berlanti was the head writer on the Oscars on Sunday night, for what that's worth.

* The World Entertainment News Network says that during the rehearsal for Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris' tighty-whitey underwear walk (in tribute to "Birdman"), the stage lights showed a bit more of NPH than network execs were comfortable with.

To remedy the situation, a second pair of underpants was layered on top of the first.

Neil is taking some grief for his job hosting the show, but can we all just agree that it's not the host, it's the show itself.

It's too bleeping long, the middle is too short on starpower, too many of the nominated movies are downers - three of the four acting awards went to an ALS sufferer, an Alzheimer's sufferer and a sadistic music teacher - and no one knows the Best Song nominees.

Added to that, on Sunday no movie had any award momentum and the most popular movie ("American Sniper") got shut out of the big prizes.

No one could liven up that show.

* Suzan-Lori Parks' historical trilogy set during the Civil War has won a theater award honoring the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, one of the largest prizes given for dramatic writing.

Parks' "Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)" traces the journey of a slave named Hero, his wife, Penny, and the best friend he betrayed, Homer. Spanning three hours, the plays premiered last fall at New York's Public Theater to largely rave reviews. It is the initial trio in a planned nine-play cycle.

The Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History honors a new play or musical that explores the United States' past and deals with "great issues of our day." Given every year through Columbia University, it comes with $100,000.

* Thehollywoodgossip.com reports that a woman in Sinaloa, Mexico, was so turned on by the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey," she took off her pants and began pleasuring herself in the 12th row.

The row isn't actually relevant to the story - except to patrons in Sinaloa who may want to sit somewhere else.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

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