Chris Curtis, an executive producer for Boston sports radio station WEEI, issued an apology on air Thursday for making an ethnic slur on air earlier this week and announced that he has been suspended for about a week.
On Tuesday's edition of "The Greg Hill Show," the hosts were talking about the possibility of a ban on miniature alcoholic bottles in Boston. When asked about his favorite, Curtis said, "Oh, I'd probably go Mina Kimes," referencing the ESPN NFL analyst.
The term used on the show is an abbreviation for an ethnic slur directed toward Japanese people. Kimes is of Korean descent on her mother's side.
Thursday's edition of "The Greg Hill Show" began with a statement from Curtis, apologizing for his remark and announcing that he has been suspended from the show until Wednesday of next week. He said he meant to say the name of actress Mila Kunis but instead referenced Mina Kimes.
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"In a pathetic failed attempt at a one liner, I attempted to bring up Mila Kunis, which was not really that funny... sophomoric and sexist," Curtis said. "But for reasons I don't understand, I said Mina Kimes. That was never the intention for me to say her name. It had nothing to do with the subject matter and it dragged her into a controversy through no fault of her own regarding a slur and her race and that was not at all what my intention was, but it doesn't matter because of the absolute chaos my words created for someone who's just doing her job covering the NFL at ESPN. So I want to apologize to Mina Kimes, I want to apologize for a stupid, lame attempt at a joke, something that there's just really no other way to put it... it was dumb and it was silly."
Curtis also apologized to the listeners of the show, saying working at WEEI "is the dream of my life," and not a privilege he takes lightly. He did not apologize to Kunis, however.
When Curtis finished speaking, Hill, the show's host, chimed in as well, saying "I agree with you Curtis that is not what this show is and that is not what this radio station is. When it comes to that happening on this radio show I think that all of us apologize to those that were offended by it..."
A spokesperson for Audacy, WEEI's parent company, said the station had no official comment on the controversy.
ESPN released a statement Wednesday, saying, "There is no place for these type of hateful comments, which were uncalled for and extremely offensive.”
For her part, Kimes changed her Twitter profile picture on Wednesday afternoon to an image of Kunis.
