'Do all dark-skinned black women look the same?' New York Times under fire for mistaking Angela Bassett for Omarosa Manigault Newman
Angela Bassett was at the center of much of the Emmy Awards chatter on Monday night after the 60-year-old actress appeared onstage to present an award alongside Tiffany Haddish, looking like she hasn’t aged a bit. But now, she’s fallen victim to some controversy after the New York Times included a mistake in Tuesday morning’s paper, mixing Bassett up with Omarosa Manigault Newman in a photo caption.
Beside a photo of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan accepting the award for lead actress in a comedy series from Haddish and Bassett, the publication printed that it was, in fact, Manigault Newman onstage with the two actresses. And although it’s simply confusing to some, many people online are outraged by the misprint.
oh my god the New York Times mixed up Angela Bassett with Omarosa pic.twitter.com/jLoePOqADy
— julia reinstein 🚡 (@juliareinstein) September 18, 2018
Huh? How do you mix up Angela Bassett with Omarosa?
— Kim Norviel (@Kimmer4444) September 18, 2018
This one seems particularly egregious though. Like… why would Omarosa even be there??? And especially presenting??? And then I want to know what is wrong with someone’s brain if they can’t recognize an icon like Angela Bassett???
— Betsy (@SuperBtsy) September 18, 2018
Wow @nytimes do all dark skinned black women look the same to your editors?? Gorgeous and talented Queen Angela Bassett looks nothing like that other one. 😳🙄 #NYTimes #majoreffup https://t.co/hPx1tlgTQv
— Joy Villa (@Joy_Villa) September 18, 2018
Dear @nytimes the lady in white is HRC Black Magic queen Angela Basset not Omarosa – surely you have at least two black people on your team who could have clarified this … whatever this is pic.twitter.com/QD6jleiZdL
— Chipo Dendere (@drDendere) September 18, 2018
At the moment, all fingers are pointed at the world-renowned publication for the mistake. However, the error actually leads back to Getty Images, where Bassett was originally misidentified in a number of photo captions.
Already, the photo agency has corrected the captions and included the following statement: “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Robyn BECK has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Angela Bassett] instead of [Omarosa Manigault Newman]. […] We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.”
The New York Times didn’t immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. However, the publication issued an apology on social media.
We regret running an incorrect caption from a photo wire service in some early print editions. We will issue a correction in tomorrow's paper.https://t.co/fEezxxXo0M
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) September 18, 2018
Manigault Newman has yet to publicly address the mixup, while Bassett tweeted, “no worries!”
Hey Everybody, no worries! xoAng pic.twitter.com/iPq2uQVy4I
— Angela Bassett (@ImAngelaBassett) September 18, 2018
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