{"id":360818,"date":"2026-07-04T08:34:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/360818\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T08:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:34:30","slug":"houston-anchor-exposes-racist-viewer-comment-a-monkey-from-the-zoo-is-a-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/360818\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston anchor exposes racist viewer comment: ‘A monkey from the zoo is a first’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A racist viewer comment left under a Houston anchor’s<\/a> family celebration is drawing backlash after she put the message on public display.<\/p>\n

Erica Simon, ABC13’s weekday evening anchor<\/a>, took to Facebook Thursday evening to call out a viewer who compared her to a monkey. The comment was left under a post celebrating Simon’s mother’s 70th birthday on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been called a number of things in my career, but a monkey from the zoo is a first,” Simon wrote. “Pray for James Hoey, because he’s miserable and needs to accept Jesus’ redemptive love.”<\/p>\n

Simon included a\u00a0screenshot of the comment, which read: “Why are monkeys from the zoo on the news and fb like there ppl.”<\/p>\n

The anchor quickly received an outpouring of support, including from fellow Black journalists.<\/p>\n

“He’s probably a troll,” KHOU 11<\/a> reporter Ugochi Iloka commented. “So sorry you had to even deal with this ugh!”<\/p>\n

Chron has reached out to Simon for comment.<\/p>\n

Simon isn’t the only ABC13 anchor<\/a> to publicly expose racist messages from viewers. Her colleague\u00a0Mayra Moreno<\/a> has repeatedly\u00a0faced and called out criticism for her use of Spanish<\/a> on air, including from\u00a0a viewer who complained about her “buenas noches” sign-off. Moreno said at the time that Latino journalists who are their “authentic self” continue to receive similar messages and made clear she had no plans to stop using the phrase.<\/p>\n

Simon has also used social media to push back against personal comments from viewers. During her pregnancies, she called out repeated remarks about her body, saying similar criticism during her first pregnancy made her feel “very self-conscious and bad, at a time where I should be celebrating, at peace, and preparing for God’s gift.”\u00a0At the time, Simon urged viewers to stop<\/a> bombarding her with opinions about her pregnancy or appearance.<\/p>\n

A Dallas native, Simon has been with ABC13<\/a> since 2017 after previously working at\u00a0WJAX-WFOX in Jacksonville, Fla. The University of Missouri graduate also worked in Columbia, Mo., and Shreveport, La. She currently serves as vice president of broadcast for the Houston Association of Black Journalists.<\/p>\n

More News<\/p>\n

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For the latest and best from Chron, sign up for our daily newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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