LeVar Burton, who famously portrayed Kunta Kinte in the television adaptation, got into the mix.
Keith Olbermann received major backlash after he compared Donald Trump to a fictional Black slave from the 1970s novel and miniseries “Roots” during a tweet on Tuesday.
“Yes @realDonaldTrump has always been, will always be, and on the day of his bid for re-election, still is: a whiny little Kunta Kinte,” Olbermann captioned his repost of a “Fox & Friends” interview where Trump bashed the Fox network for not covering his campaign enough.
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
@KeithOlbermann
Olbermann’s tweet was met with immediate blowback online, as critics pointed out that the use of “Kunta Kinte” is often derogatory for a Black person.
“Ahhh…we knew our daily dose of racism would come earlier this morning smh. The clown shows are going to be in full swing all day,” wrote one Twitter fan, as another went into more detail, writing, “So you decided this was a clever take down of the malignant narcissist Trump. Sadly all you did was mock a generation of Americans, who view the Roots character you used as an insult as a symbol of what our ancestors went through. Shame on you for this lapse of insight.”
And many were confused why the word “whiny” was used in the first place as a description for the hero character.
So you decided this was a clever take down of the malignant narcissist Trump. Sadly all you did was mock a generation of Americans, who view the Roots character you used as an insult as a symbol of what our ancestors went through. Shame on you for this lapse of insight. https://t.co/KriMIAcutB
— Tynisa the Cynical Gen X Witch Walker (@Kalarigamerchic) November 3, 2020
@Kalarigamerchic
“I don’t recall watching ‘Roots’ and thinking, ‘Wow, Kunta Kinte sure whines a lot. Suck it up, slave!'” shared a user.
Hours later, the tweet was deleted with Obermann offering an explanation, saying his original post was a way of calling Trump a “c–t.”
“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,” Olbermann wrote.
But that still didn’t hold much water for his naysayers.
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
@levarburton
“You should’ve just said c–t If you meant c–t and not tried to be funny. This s–t is racist and inaccurate as f–k. Calling Kunta Kinte whiny?! WHINY?! How f–king dare you,” posted a follower.
Even LeVar Burton, who famously portrayed Kunta Kinte in the television adaptation, got into the mix.
“Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long ‘u’ as in unity, not a short ‘u’ as in cup. Try again! Love, Kunta.”
Burton also posted a photo of himself as Kunta with the caption, “#NewProfilePic.”