Good Morning America' Anchor Apologizes For Using 'Offensive' Racial Slur on Live TV

NEW YORK (TheBlaze/AP) -- "Good Morning America" co-anchor Amy Robach has apologized for saying "colored people" on Monday's broadcast of the ABC program.

Her use of the term sparked criticism on social media. "Offensive," tweeted at least three viewers.

@GMA This is 2016 not 1956..The term "Colored People" is outdated and offensive. Amy should know that as a GA native..

— Mychereamore (@MyChereAmore) August 22, 2016

@THETonyMorrison I can't believe Amy said COLORED PEOPLE this morning!!!!!!!!!!! Very offensive. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?

— jsulton (@jssulton11369) August 22, 2016

I might be hallucinating, but did I just hear "colored people" on @GMA? Wow, it's too early to be so offensive

— Samantha Ponzillo (@SPonzilloTV) August 22, 2016

Another said Robach "gets a pass this time" but vowed to ditch "GMA" for a rival morning program if it happened again.

Ok @GMA please talk to #amyrobach. If she says #coloredpeople again I'll have to find a new a.m. program to watch-she gets a pass this time

— FABWP (@_fabwp) August 22, 2016

During a segment on diversity in Hollywood, Robach, who was substituting for Robin Roberts, noted recent criticism for casting white actors "in what one might assume should be a role reserved for colored people."

After the broadcast, Robach released a statement explaining she had meant to say "people of color."

She called the incident "a mistake" and "not at all a reflection of how I feel or speak in my everyday life."

The words used to describe African-Americans have evolved over time to from words like Negro, colored, Afro-American to the current black, African-American and people of color, said Deborah E. McDowell, director of the University of Virginia's Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies.

"We no longer use the term colored people, although once upon a time that was a term in use," McDowell said. "Now the preferred usage is people of color if you are speaking about people of color broadly. If you are referring specifically to African-Americans, people will frequently be specific and refer to us as African-Americans."

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