Really?: CNBC Squawk Box Host Does Racist Indian Caricature on Air

Some cute small talk about rupees went very wrong on CNBC’s Squawk Box recently, when co-host Joe Kernen used an offensive Indian accent and made a racist comment about Indian-Americans working at convenience stores.

The Squawk Box panel had briefly referenced the rupee during a discussion on foreign currency, causing co-host Becky Quick to retrieve some rupee bills from her purse, where they remained from a previous trip to India. She passed the rupees around, though she admitted she had no idea what they were worth in American dollars.

Kernan began by noting that Gandhi was on the rupee while using a caricature of an Indian accent, then said, “I can’t make any jokes about that, I really can’t,” though he clearly wanted to.

“Please don’t,” Quick said.

But Kernan did. “Are they good at 7/11?”

When cohost Andrew Ross Sorkin was clearly taken aback by the comment, Kernan accused of him of being nervous, and said, “People say that all the time.” Then: “I’m sorry, I take it back, before I have to.”

Watch the full clip below, via CNBC:

[h/t NYDN]

[Image via screengrab]

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