Larry Wilmore’s monologue during this past weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner still has everyone talking. Aside from his litany of jokes where he hilariously made some members of the audience very uncomfortable, he capped things off by telling President Obama “Yo Barry, you did it ma n*gga,” and then gave him a dap. Many folks have come forward, sharing their displeasure with the statement, including Ernie Hudson and Al Sharpton. One of Wilmore’s other detractors was Piers Morgan, who penned a Daily Mail column, critiquing Wilmore’s monologue and it’s use of the n-word.
On last night’s episode of The Nightly Show, Wilmore defended his position and use of the word, while also calling out Morgan in the process.
I’m wrapping up my little speech and giving the president some props,” he explained of the evening’s big moment. “Then I buttoned it with a little, um, let’s say colloquialism. Are you saying that I called the president a ‘n****r’?”
“I would never do that. I believe I said, ‘Yo Barry, You did it, my n***a!’ There’s a difference. Piers, you did not properly conjugate the slur. Very important! ‘N****r’ is what white people use to denigrate, demean, and dehumanize black people. ‘N***a’ is a term of endearment some black people use between each other to take back its power.”
Having caught wind of Wilmore’s segment, Morgan retorted on Twitter.
I don’t need a history lesson to tell me that the N-word – ‘n***er’ or ‘n*gga’ – is wrong. https://t.co/I92JWdBUf2
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 3, 2016
For what it’s worth President Obama did not have problems with Larry Wilmore’s use of the n-word.
https://youtu.be/fbJoMWtai1g
Respect: Complex