Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo were talking to 12-year-old Ananya Vinay on “New Day” after Ananya’s Thursday victory at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Then Camerota tells her it was a "nonsense word" anyway. So, we’re not sure that its root is actually in Sanskrit, which is what you’re probably, uh, used to using, so, I don’t know. The problem is the fact that she said Sanskrit is "probably what you are used to". Vinay, an Indian American, is from Fresno, Calif. 
 
 [By correctly spelling ‘marocain,’ California girl becomes bee queen] 
 
 Criticism of Camerota’s comment has since been circulating on social media. Many said her comment was racist, while others were simply in disbelief that the CNN anchor had made such an assumption. Watch: https://t.co/LIPkEGozVF — Asha Dahya (@Ashadahya) June 4, 2017 
 
 "in sanskrit, which is what you're probably used to using"? https://t.co/fU76nHdUyc — Maya Mirchandani (@maya206) June 4, 2017 
 
 A CNN spokeswoman said Camoreta’s comment had nothing to do with the girl’s heritage, and the interview was not the first time the anchor joked about Sanskrit being the origin of “covfefe.” 
 
 “Alisyn made the same joking reference to the root of ‘covfefe’ in an earlier panel discussion that aired Wednesday. If she’s guilty of anything it’s recycling a joke. To assign a bias to what was a fun and innocent segment celebrating Ananya Vinay’s incredible accomplishment is frankly extremely cynical,” the spokesperson said in a statement, referring to a transcript of the Wednesday segment. Ananya Vinay of Fresno, California celebrates with family after winning the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S., June 1, 2017. “I study, like, a couple of hours a day for the whole year, and I just try to figure out language patterns and … root words so I can see if I could come up with a spelling that makes sense,” said Vinay, who was the first Scripps National Spelling Bee solo champion in years. Did she really just say Sanskrit? It also betrays a certain presumption that a gibberish word must be put into the basket of something far-out exotic like Sanskrit. (Then she goes on to pronounce “covfefe” a few different ways.) @CNN An Indian-American who wins the national spelling bee is not used to seeing Sanskrit just because she's an Indian. “Not only did you make yourself proud and your family, but do you know that there are kids all over the country, probably the world, who are going to look at you and say, ‘I want to put in that work. After months of trolling Trump, Merriam-Webster has no words about ‘covfefe’ 
 
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– CNN is taking heat after a host assumed a teen spelling bee champ of Indian descent was "used to using" Sanskrit. The Washington Post reports the exchange occurred on the network's "New Day" program following 12-year-old Ananya Vinay's victory at Thursday night's 90th annual Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. After asking Ananya to spell "covfefe," hosts Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo joked that President Trump's "nonsense word" has dubious origins. "We’re not sure that its root is actually in Sanskrit, which is what you’re probably, uh, used to using," Camerota told Ananya, who was born and raised in Fresno, Calif. Criticism that Camerota's quip was insensitive and "racist" swept social media. "If she were Jewish would you say 'your real language is Hebrew?'" one woman tweeted. "Are you serious @CNN?" tweeted another. "That's some straight racism there." Sandip Roy writes in Huffington Post India that while "there's nothing wrong with Ananya Vinay being used to" the ancient language of the Hindu scriptures, "the presumption that (Ananya) must be familiar with her Sanskrit just reeks of the assumption that she is still more Indian than American." He compares it to Camerota being asked if "she was probably used to Latin." CNN dismissed the dust-up, per HuffPo, calling the segment "fun and innocent" and noting that Camerota was following up an earlier joke about "covfefe's" roots. "If she's guilty of anything it's recycling a joke," the network said. (Ananya nailed her bee win with this word. Meanwhile, Americans find these words vexing.)