Conservative Editor-In-Chief Says Mispronunciation Led to Accusations of Using Slur

Rich Lowry, the editor-in-chief of the prominent conservative magazine National Review, denied accusations that he used a racial slur to refer to Haitian migrants during an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, saying it was a mispronunciation.

Kelly asked Lowry, who has been at the magazine since 1997, about comments made by JD Vance regarding vitriolic and debunked claims that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating neighborhood pets.

In a CNN interview on Sunday, Vance, the Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee, said he was willing “to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention.”

“He admits they made it up,” said Kelly, to which Lowry responded: “Remember ‘alternative facts’ with Kellyanne [Conway]. They did the same thing.”

Lowry added, “They’ve only found two Springfield residents calling to complain about Haitian [word] — migrants taking geese from ponds.”

Lowry’s initial pronunciation of the word “migrants,” which he later said he simply stumbled over, sounded like the N-word to some social media users.

Rich Lowry hard R’d. It was past the point of no return.pic.twitter.com/So7u4R4deV

— 9mmSMG (@9mm_smg) September 16, 2024

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Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy, who is also a National Review contributing editor, also responded to the controversy, writing on X that Lowry “obviously got crossed up between ‘immigrants’ (short i) and migrants (long i) — started mispronouncing ‘migrants’ with short i; instantly corrected himself with no embarrassment because it was patently a mispronunciation.”

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