Meteorologist Jen Delgado Apologize After Saying Kids In Haiti Eat Trees

Some Haitian-Americans were grossly offended when a Hurricane Matthew segment by Weather Channel Meteorologist Jen Delgado surfaced from a Monday broadcast. The offending part? The Weather Channel weather expert attributed the hurricane’s projected damages to deforestation. Well, that’s pretty sound…except that she went to on to say this:

“They take all the trees down, the burn the trees. Even the kids there, they’re so hungry, they actually eat the trees.”

Looks like Ms. Delgado has been greatly misinformed in regards to deforestation in Haiti and Haitian gastronomy. The outrage was so pronounced, it led to over a 600 online signed petition calling for an apology. The anchor has since apologized, and the Weather Channel itself issued an apology.

Was this a case of adlibing live commentary gone wrong?

Everyone one of us has an occasional slip of the tongue. But the fact that an educated, high-profiled person can make a misguided comment like that made many shake their heads. Is this how some folks see Haiti? Goodness, gracious!

But Ms. Delgado did express her regret over making the comment. And at least now, she knows kids in Haiti don’t consume trees.