A screenshot of Jennifer Delgado's report (Credit: YouTube)

The Weather Channel’s Jennifer Delgado apologized after saying that Haitian children eat trees. What prompted her inaccurate comments? Delgado was talking about Hurricane Matthew, which was then approaching Haiti, and saying that children eating trees was part of the reason Haiti “has been essentially deforested.”

“The kids there, they’re so hungry, they actually eat the trees!”

See the video of her comments below.

Delgado apologized in an Oct. 4 Facebook statement.

“I want to apologize for a statement that I made yesterday that was inappropriate,” Delgado’s statement read. “My intention is always to provide relevant information to areas impacted by severe weather and I wanted to spotlight the incredibly difficult conditions that the people in Haiti continue to face, particularly in light of Hurricane Matthew. I deeply regret and apologize for any statement that I used on-air that was offensive.”

The Weather Channel apologized in a statement posted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The Weather Channel regrets the comments Jennifer Delgado made on air Monday regarding the deforestation in Haiti. Jennifer was not intending to offend the Haitian community and misspoke. She clarified her comments yesterday on-air. The Weather Channel has been dedicated to covering the impacts of Hurricane Matthew on Haiti and will continue to focus on the storm.

There is a Change.org petition calling for Delgado’s firing over the comments. The online petition has more than 20,000 signatories.

iMediaEthics has contacted The Weather Channel for comment. We’ve also reached out to Delgado over Twitter.

Hat Tip: Steve Bien-Aime