Telemundo Fires Talk Show Host for Homophobic Slur

According to the magazine People en Español, Luisa Fernanda, 36, was fired from Cotorreando for using the term "cherna" in Wednesday's broadcast. Although in Mexico, the word is a synonym of a grouper fish, it is used pejoratively by Cubans and other Caribbeans to refer to a gay man, according to a spokesperson for GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Telemundo announced that it "decided to terminate our relationship with Luisa Fernanda because she behaved in a manner that is not consistant with the culture of our company, including our respect for diversity." Monica Taher, media director of GLAAD, told La Opinión that "we are seeing a radical cultural change in Spanish media, which makes us feel happy and proud." Luisa Fernanda is a former member of the Mexican music group Garibaldi, and has appeared in vaious telenovelas and as host of the Spanish-language Home Shopping Network. In 2001, Telemundo hired her to co-host Cotorreando with veteran Cuban journalist Mauricio Zeilic. Cotorreando is broadcast at noon on KVEA Channel 52 in Los Angeles.

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