Cher Offers to Finance Suit by Fired School Guard

Cher says she'll cover the expense of any lawsuit a black Wisconsin high school security guard might file after he was fired for using a racial slur while telling a student not to use that word. Marlon Anderson said a disruptive student at Madison West High School used the racist term on Oct. 9. Anderson repeated the word as he admonished the student, who is also black, not to say it. Madison schools have a zero-tolerance policy on racial slurs and fired Anderson, the AP reports. Asking how people can be so disrespectful, the Grammy-, Oscar- and Tony-award-winning artist tweeted Friday that if Anderson wants to sue the Madison school district, she will cover his expenses.

Some students at the school skipped class Friday and marched through the streets of the state capital to protest the firing. They also walked around the Madison school district offices, chanting "Hey-hey, hey-ho, zero tolerance has got to go!" and "Do Better!" Anderson has appealed the firing, per the State Journal, saying the zero-tolerance policy doesn't consider the context that the slur was used in. Anderson had worked for the district for 11 years. At least seven school district employees were fired or quit last year after being accused of using a slur.

(More racial slurs stories.)