Cher offers to cover legal fees for security guard fired after N-word incident
The singer is among those who found the firing of a Madison, Wis., school security guard unfair and is willing to help him if he decides to sue
An African American security guard in Wisconsin made national headlines recently when he was allegedly fired for telling a student to stop calling him the n-word. Now music legend Cher is coming forward to help him in his fight for justice.
The singer tweeted her outrage over the firing of Marlon Anderson saying she was willing to help him financially if he decides to take legal action against the school board that terminated him.
How Can Ppl Be This Disrespectful⁉️A Beloved,Man of Color Just Passed,& Our Nations Mourning Him.Cong.Elijah Cummings FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE.He Was loved & Feared. If You Want To sue MMSD Ed.Board I Will Incur Your expenses.?EC
— Cher (@cher) October 18, 2019
According to CNN, last Wednesday Anderson was called in to help the assistant principal at Madison West High School escort a student off of school grounds. Unfortunately, the minor in question became belligerent and pushed the principal while yelling expletives which included a racial slur.
READ MORE: School security guard called racial slur then fired for verbally reprimanding the student
Anderson said at first he asked the student to stop calling him that, without actually saying the offensive word. But when the student not only continued but also began to spit out different variations of the n-word, the guard had enough and bluntly requested, “Don’t call me (n-word).”
But under the school’s ‘zero-tolerance’ policy, that one sentence was used as grounds to fire him.
“We are working to make our school climates the best they can be for all students and staff,” Gloria Reyes, president of the Madison Board of Education explained in a statement. “We’ve taken a tough stance on racial slurs, and we believe that language has no place in schools.”
READ MORE: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo drops N-Word on live radio to point out anti-Italian slurs
But Friday, outraged West High School students reportedly walked out of school to protest what they believe to be a tone-deaf and inappropriate application of the hate speech policy.
That same day, Cher retweeted the post about Anderson losing his job to her 3.7 million followers, while adding an offer to pay his legal expenses. She also tweeted that she’s trying to get in touch with him so that she can help out.
I did this myself After Reading Twt?,without help from staff. It’s day off & ppl need break we’ve been working HARD. I Need access to station & Female journalist. I actually didn’t know where this gentleman Lived.I’m in GB 11:18 Fri. Pm. Can’t get much done on Weekend. ??
— Cher (@cher) October 18, 2019
READ MORE: Princeton professor repeatedly uses N-word, students walk out in protest
