Keith Olbermann apologized Tuesday for calling President Donald Trump “a whiny little Kunta Kinte.”
The former MSNBC host made the remark during a Twitter rant, referencing the fictional slave from the 1976 novel Roots.
“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 tweeted.
Olbermann was reacting to Trump’s interview on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning.
According to Dictionary.com, Kunta Kinte is a derogatory name for an African refugee.
Olbermann — who clearly didn’t know who Kunta Kinte was — apologized in a follow-up tweet.
“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**t without writing/saying c**t, just using a sound-alike to call Trump a c**t Deleting previous, largely because this one clarifies the c**t part,” Olbermann wrote.”
His “apology” prompted a response from actor LeVar Burton who played Kunta Kinte in the Roots TV mini-series.
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
But the fierce backlash from Black & white Twitter continued.
Journalist Tim Pool tweeted, “Keith Olbermann is a racist.”
You know you can delete tweets https://t.co/QSAlIN13yP
— Andrew Perez (@andrewperezdc) November 3, 2020
Not your place .
Not EVER.As a white man? a member of a journalistim so utterly inept at address its racism, and still managing to fail AT THIS JUNCTURE IN 2020 AD
Not your place ever . Especially when it’s is so haphazard you misuse the reference https://t.co/dAS3n5gJ6e
— ???Sydette the DreadGorgon?? ? (@Blackamazon) November 3, 2020
White liberals lost their damn minds https://t.co/aQss0LxtJz
— Nancy Pelosi is an Amy Cooper Democrat ? (@SocialistMMA) November 3, 2020
Nothing to see here, folks. Just @KeithOlbermann being his unhinged, whiny, racist self. https://t.co/BUVuV5ZiQe
— Cindy (@asheborn57) November 3, 2020
Just curious, have you watched Roots? https://t.co/v1d5hI5TbR
— Olivia Rondeau (@rondeaulivia) November 3, 2020