Halle Berry has called out a radio host following comments he made comparing the skin tones of famous Black women to his preferred toaster setting.
During a recent episode of The Morning Bull Show podcast, Rob Lederman referenced the Hollywood actor's skin tone and that of Serena Williams and US TV host Gayle King.
During the conversation, Lederman acknowledged he 'may get into trouble for this' before noting that, when it comes to dating, he would 'never go to a Serena Williams level', referring to her dark skin tone.
Following his comments about Williams, the host added: 'But I'm very comfortable at a Halle Berry level. I need a little bit of mulatto still coming through.'
After referencing the historically racially prejudiced term 'mulatto' in relation to Berry, the host was then further questioned by one of his co-hosts over this preference.
'Is Gayle King, that's not your realm?' asked one co-host, to which Lederman responded: 'No, Gayle King is not even on my toaster level.'
Berry was quick to shutdown the comments made by Lederman on Twitter and reposted a recording of the clip from EPSN reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques' tweet on Friday (March 24). She commented: 'Disgusting. It’s ridiculous this type of nonsense is still being broadcasted across airwaves. ALL Black women are beautiful and worthy, Rob Lederman. GTFOH. [sic]'
Since the episode aired, WKBW Buffalo reported that Lederman was fired as of Wednesday (March 24), while his co-hosts Chris Klein and Rich 'Bull' Gaenzler have been suspended.
A representative for The Morning Bull Show’s parent company, Cumulus Media, also shared a statement with PEOPLE which reads: '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 apologise, and deeply regret the incident.'
Lederman later issued an apology via Twitter, describing his action in part as 'ignorant' and 'foolish', but claims they were 'not meant to be hurtful'.
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