*Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann is under fire for calling President Donald Trump a “whiny Kunta Kinte” in a now-deleted tweet.
He made the remark in response to Trump firing shots at Fox News for airing speeches from former President Barack Obama.
“Actually, Fox puts him on more than anybody else, which is sort of shocking to me because Fox has changed a lot. Somebody said, ‘What’s the biggest difference between this and four years ago?’ I say, ‘Fox.’ It’s much different,” said Trump during an on-air “Fox & Friends” interview.
“In the old days, they wouldn’t put, you know, they wouldn’t put Sleepy Joe Biden on every time he opened his mouth. They had other networks for that, frankly, and it was run a much different operation. I’m just telling you it’s much different,” he added before praising the network’s leading opinion hosts but excluding the news department.
Just logged back in: I apologize for my previous subtweet of this. I was using an old 70’s-80’s technique for calling somebody a c*** without writing/saying c***, just using a sound-alike to call Trump a c***
Deleting previous, largely because this one clarifies the c*** part https://t.co/hIIrt1Ke17
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 3, 2020
“I’m not complaining. I’m just telling people. It’s one of the biggest differences this season compared to last,” Trump added.
Olbermann defended the network Tuesday morning via the Kunta comment. But Twitter users quickly noted the odd comparison to the “Roots” character — a Black slave who stood up to his white masters. The character was famously portrayed by LeVar Burton.
Olbermann’s comment was called racist by commentators on the left and right, with Burton writing, “Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long “u” as in unity, not a short “u” as in cup. Try again! Love, Kunta,” the actor tweeted.
Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long “u” as in unity, not a short “u” as in cup.
Try again!
Love,
Kunta— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) November 3, 2020
In an email to TheWrap, Olbermann explained that he was attempting to refer to Trump with a vulgar word that sounds similar to “Kunta.”
“I’ve deleted the previous ‘Kunta Kinte’ version to make it clear,” he said. In a new tweet, Olbermann apologized.
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