Chris Curtis, an executive producer for Boston sports radio station WEEI, has been suspended for allegedly making an ethnic slur on air Wednesday.
Curtis opened the “The Greg Hill Show” Thursday and apologized, announcing that he is suspended from the show until Wednesday, according to The Boston Globe.
The host came under fire for a comment he made on the show during a discussion about a ban on miniature alcoholic bottles in Boston.
When asked about his favorite “nips,” Curtis said: “Oh, I’d probably go Mina Kimes,” referring to the ESPN NFL analyst, who is of Korean descent.
The term “nips” is an abbreviation for an ethnic slur directed toward Japanese people.
In his apology on air, Curtis claimed he meant to say the name of American actress Mila Kunis.
Chris Curtis in Boston in Sept. 2019. Instagram/Chris Curtis “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, according to NBC Boston.
“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.”
ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes attends ESPN and CFP’s Allstate Party At The Playoff Event at The Majestic Downtown on Jan. 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Getty ImagesCurtis went on to apologize directly to Kimes.
“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,” Curtis said.
“…It was dumb and it was silly.”
Kimes responded on Twitter to Chad Finn, the Boston Globe columnist who originally reported on the story, with a photo of “The Simpsons” characters with glazed eyes.
She then changed her Twitter avatar to a photo of Kunis, who has yet to respond to the controversy.
A spokesperson for Audacy, WEEI’s parent company, said the station had no official comment on the matter.
Mila Kunis arrives at the FOX’s “Family Guy” 400th Episode Celebration at Fox Studio Lot on Nov. 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. FilmMagicIn a statement Wednesday, ESPN said: “There is no place for these type of hateful comments, which were uncalled for and extremely offensive.”
Curtis has worked in sports radio in Boston since 2002, according to his bio on the Audacy website.
