Cher offers to pay legal costs for black security guard fired after telling student not to use racial slur

‘How can people be this disrespectful!?’ singer and actor tweeted

Cher has offered to pay legal costs for a black security guard who was fired from a US school after telling a student not to use a racial slur against him.

The singer said she would stump up the fees for Marlon Anderson if he wanted to sue the Wisconsin school.

Mr Anderson said the student, who is also black, called him multiple obscenities during a confrontation including the N-word.

The security guard used the N-word himself when he asked the student not to use it, and was subsequently fired from his job at Madison West High School, which has a zero-tolerance policy for staff using the term.

Cher expressed her outrage over the claims, tweeting: “How can [people] be this disrespectful!?”

The Oscar-winning actor then referenced the Maryland Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, who died this week at the age of 68.

“A beloved man of colour just passed and our nation is mourning him,” she wrote. “Elijah Cummings FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE. He was loved and feared.

“If you want to sue [Madison Metropolitan School District] education board, I will incur your expenses.”

Mr Anderson was fired on Wednesday after working at the school for 11 years.

He said that he expected the school to have taken into account the context of the exchange.

“My understanding of the policy was white staff shouldn’t use the N-word under any circumstances,” the security guard told NBC News.

“But I had no idea me being called the word and me telling the student not to call me the word would get me fired.”

Mr Anderson has yet to respond to Cher’s offer.