Conservative journalist Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of the National Review, appeared to have used the N-word during an interview with colleague Megyn Kelly on Monday.

During the interview, Lowry talks about Haitian immigrants in the United States, a topic that has attracted national attention in recent days after high-ranking Republicans, including presidential and vice presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance, spread debunked rumors that they stole and ate pets in Springfield, Ohio.

“While (CNN journalist) Dana Bash says police looked through 11 months of call records and found only two Springfield residents who called to complain about Haitian n– uh, migrants taking geese out of ponds,” Lowry appears to say. Kelly doesn’t interrupt him, nor does she mention the obvious use of the word after Lowry finishes speaking.

The clip quickly went viral, causing an uproar on social media and prompting both Lowry and Kelly to address the issue. The former agreed to issue a statement, saying he “confused immigrants (short i) and migrants (long i) – started mispronouncing ‘migrants’ with short i; immediately corrected himself with no shame because it was obviously a mispronunciation. Gosh.” “Yes, that’s exactly what happened – I started mispronouncing the word ‘migrants’ and caught myself halfway through,” Lowry said on X.

Kelly responded to the same statement by saying, “This is so disgusting and is obviously being said by someone who doesn’t know Rich Lowry at all.” “You will never meet a finer, more gracious man of good character,” she added.