Former CNN anchor Valerie Hoff DeCarlo, who left journalism after a controversy involving the use of a racial slur, died last week at age 62 following a battle with lung cancer.

Hoff DeCarlo served as an anchor at CNN from 1992 to 1999 before transitioning to NBC affiliate WXIA in Atlanta, where she worked as both an anchor and consumer reporter from 1999 through 2017. Her career in broadcast journalism spanned nearly three decades before ending abruptly over a 2017 incident that would define her legacy.

While investigating a potential story about police violence in 2017, Hoff DeCarlo used the n-word in a private Twitter message to a Black man who had posted a video she was attempting to track down for her reporting. The man had previously referred in a public post to numerous “news n-words” trying to obtain the footage from him.

In her private message to him, Hoff DeCarlo called herself a “news n-word,” apparently attempting to use his own terminology. The exchange quickly spiraled when the man shared the private messages publicly on social media. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that her willingness to use such language suggested it was not the first time she had done so.

“If she is bold enough to say it to me, being an African American, then I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time she has used that word,” the man told the outlet.

Hoff DeCarlo attempted to explain that she was merely referring to herself using the terminology the man had already employed publicly. However, the man requested contact information for her manager or lawyer, and the situation escalated rapidly once the private messages became public.

WXIA placed her on a two-week suspension before she ultimately resigned from the station. The incident effectively ended her career in mainstream broadcast journalism, though she later attempted to continue reporting through a personal blog that has since been deleted. Her efforts to re-enter the industry as a citizen journalist remained largely out of the public eye.

Beyond her professional controversies, Hoff DeCarlo was known for reporting that often intersected with her personal life. She openly shared her family’s adoption journey and her own health struggles with audiences throughout her career. She and her husband, Derrick DeCarlo, had two sons, one of whom they adopted from Russia after experiencing infertility challenges.

In 2013, Hoff DeCarlo was diagnosed with breast cancer, a battle she documented and shared with viewers. Her willingness to discuss personal struggles made her reporting distinctive and helped her connect with audiences on topics ranging from family issues to health care.

More than a decade after her first cancer diagnosis, Hoff DeCarlo received a stage four lung cancer diagnosis in 2024. Despite the severity of her illness, she remained engaged in planning family activities in the weeks before her death. She was organizing a cruise trip for her family and preparing to host a Christmas party when she passed away.

Her husband remembered her as someone who approached every aspect of life with determination. “She was a force with everything she did. She was a strong, capable, loving woman and a wonderful mother,” Derrick DeCarlo told the outlet.

The 2017 incident that ended Hoff DeCarlo’s broadcasting career highlighted the ongoing sensitivity surrounding racial language in professional settings, particularly in journalism. While she maintained that she was attempting to mirror the language used by her source, the controversy underscored how context and intent are often insufficient defenses when racial slurs are involved, even in private communications that later become public.

Her case also reflected the challenges journalists face when navigating conversations about race and violence, particularly when attempting to establish rapport with sources. The incident raised questions about appropriate communication methods and the permanence of digital conversations, even those intended to be private.

Following her departure from WXIA, Hoff DeCarlo largely disappeared from public view. Her attempt to maintain a presence in journalism through independent blogging never gained significant traction, and the blog was eventually taken down. The incident remained a cautionary tale in newsrooms about the potential consequences of language choices, regardless of intent.

Hoff DeCarlo’s death comes more than eight years after the controversy that defined the final chapter of her career. While she spent nearly two decades building a reputation in broadcast journalism at major networks, her professional legacy became inseparable from the 2017 incident that forced her resignation.

Her family has not announced funeral arrangements or memorial service details. She is survived by her husband and their two sons.