ELLEN DEGENERES IS BEING ACCUSED OF BEING RACIST, AND IT'S ALL
BECAUSE OF A PHOTOSHOPPED IMAGE THAT SHE TWEETED ON HER ACCOUNT.
THE IMAGE IS ONE OF USAIN BOLT.
THESE A FAST RUNNER, EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE
WERE MAKING MEMES ABOUT IT BECAUSE, AS HE WAS FINISHING A
100 M RACE, HE TURNED AND SMILED AT THE CAMERAS, LIKE
LITERALLY BEFORE HE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE, AND PEOPLE
THOUGHT IT WAS HILARIOUS BECAUSE HE'S SO FAST HE LITERALLY
HAS TIME TO STOP AND SMILE AT THE CAMERAS.
USAIN BOLT HAS BEEN THE FASTEST MAN IN THE WORLD FOR A LONG
TIME, HE WINS THE HUNDRED BEEN A RACE IN THE OLYMPICS.
HE SO FAST THAT OFTENTIMES HE WILL START SLOW BECAUSE HE
DOESN'T WANT TO GET THIS WHILE FIGHTING THE BEGINNING FOR
STARTING WRONG, AND THEN HE'LL LIKE ñ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
100 M, WHICH IS NOT A LONG RACE ñ HE'LL GO, OKAY NOW I WILL
WIN, AND HE'LL JUST POWER PAST THE OTHER GUYS, AND HE'LL
SOMETIMES LOOK AT THEM AND SMILE AS HE'S GOING PAST THEM.
I KNOW THAT IS UNSPORTSMANLIKE BEHAVIOR BUT I KIND OF LOVE IT.
OF COURSE YOU DO, YOU'RE THE QUEEN OF, WHAT NOW?
ISN'T THAT A STRATEGY IN A RACE WHERE YOU START OFF SLOW ñ
NOT IN A 100 M.
YOU GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY GOAT.
IT WOULD BE IN A LONGER DISTANCE RACE.
ANYWAY, THE WHOLE POINT OF KNOWING USAIN BOLT, OR WHAT
HE WILL BE KNOWN FOR, IS THAT HE'S SUPERFAST.
OF COURSE ALAN IS GOING TO MAKE A JOKE ABOUT IT.
SHE TWEETED THIS IMAGE OF HER RIDING ON HIS BACK AND SAID
THAT THIS IS HOW SHE WILL BE RUNNING ERRANDS FROM NOW ON.
USAIN BOLT APPEAR WE RETWEETED THAT, BUT PEOPLE FELT THAT IT
WAS RACIST FOR HER TO SHOULDERS OF RIDING ON THE BACK OF USAIN
BOLT.
ONE PERSON WROTE, "YOU THOUGHT IT'D BE FUNNY TO POST A
PICTURE OF YOURSELF RIDING ON THE BACK OF A BLACK MAN?
NOPE.
DELETE THIS RACIST GARBAGE."
BY THE WAY, I WENT IN AND I READ A LOT OF THE TWEETS MYSELF,
BECAUSE I THINK SOMETIMES THE MEDIA IS SALIVATING OVER A
NON-CONTROVERSY, SO THEY WILL FIND ONE OR TWO TWEETS AND
MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT.
BUT NO, A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE REALLY ACTUALLY ANGRY AND
OUTRAGED ABOUT THAT IMAGE.
ANOTHER PERSON WROTE, "WRITE THAT BRUTHA LIKE A HORSE ALAN, I
KNOW YOU SECRETLY LIKE THE D."
NO, SHE DOESN'T ACTUALLY LIKE THE D, THAT'S A WELL
RECORDED FACT.
THOSE WERE A FEW OF THE TWEETS WHO STOOD OUT ñ
WHICH STOOD OUT FOR ME.
HOWEVER A LOT OF PEOPLE DEFENDED HER.
ONE PERSON SAID, "YOU ALL KNOW DAMN WELL THAT ELLEN ISN'T
RACIST BUT Y'ALL -- "
I'M NOT GOING TO SPEAK LIKE THAT BECAUSE I DON'T SPEAK LIKE
A CLOWN.
"I AM ABSOLUTELY BAFFLED BY PEOPLE CURRENTLY CALLING
ELLEN DEGENERES RACIST BECAUSE SHE, MORE OR LESS, CALLED
AN OLYMPIC SPRINTER FAST."
ARE YOU READY?
ELLEN, NOT RACIST.
I GET THE SENSE THAT YOU AGREE ANA.
YEAH I AGREE, THAT'S RACIST?
BUT LET ME GIVE IT CONTEXT, AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO BRING OUR
BLACK CORRESPONDENT IN, AND THEN ANA WE'LL GET ON HIS SHOULDERS
AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION.
LOOK, THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU CAN USE THE
STEREOTYPES OF THE PAST THAT YOU WOULDN'T NORMALLY THINK
MIGHT BE RACIST IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT CONTEXT.
SO OFTEN TIMES, AS WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH GUYS DRESSING
UP AS BLACKFACE ON HALLOWEEN, IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE LIKE,
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL MAN?
I WOULDN'T CARE IF A BLACK GUY WORE A WHITE FACE.
WHILE YOU DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE DRESSING IN
BLACKFACE, AND YADA YADA.
SO HERE, THEORETICALLY YOU COULD BEGIN TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT ABOUT,
YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A BLACK MAN CARRYING A WHITE WOMAN, BUT
I DON'T EVEN REALLY KNOW QUITE WHAT IT'S REFERRING TO.
THERE'S THE REFERENCE TO THE HORSE, THE REFERENCE TO RIDING
HIM LIKE A MULE, BUT THAT WASN'T REALLY A THING EITHER.
I JUST FEEL LIKE CONTEXT MATTERS.
ELLEN DEGENERES IS NOT TOMMY LAUREN, ELLEN DEGENERES IS NOT
SOMEONE WHO HAS A QUESTIONABLE HISTORY OF MAKING QUESTIONABLE
STATEMENTS ABOUT MINORITIES, ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE.
IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
IT WAS OBVIOUSLY MEANT IN FUN, IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE MALICIOUS
IN ANY WAY.
ELLEN DEGENERES IS NOT RACIST, SHE'S NOT RACIST OKAY?
IF YOU ADD THE CONTEXT OF LIKE RUSH LIMBAUGH DOING THIS, AND
SAYING WATCH ME RIDE THIS BOY LIKE CATTLE, OKAY, THERE'S A
CONNECTION THERE THAT IS UGLY AND INAPPROPRIATE.
HERE, WHO REALLY THINKS ALAN MEANT IT?
OKAY, NOW YOU CAN STILL BE WRONG EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T MEAN IT, SO
WE GO TO JAYAR JACKSON, WHO IS JAYAR-RATE, SO WATCH YOURSELF.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HERE JAYAR?
THE LAST THING YOU SAID IS THE ONE CAVEAT.
I DON'T BELIEVE SHE HAS RACIST TENDENCIES, BUT PEOPLE WHO
HAVE RACIST TENDENCIES DON'T ALWAYS SHOW IT IN THEIR HISTORY.
SO IS NOT THAT THAT IS THE FACT, IT'S JUST THE SIMPLE THING OF,
SOME PEOPLE DO SOMETHING SILLY, AND I DOUBT THAT EVERYONE WHO
SAW IT HAD THIS IMMEDIATE REACTION, WORK BEING VERY
HONEST ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS.
I'M SURE A LOT OF US WERE LIKE, I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THAT LOOKS,
BECAUSE THERE'S A HISTORY OF BLACK MEN BEING CALLED STUDS AND
BUCKS AND ALL THAT SHIT, SO WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE RIDING THEM
THAT MIGHT HEARKEN BACK TO THAT.
SO IT'S OKAY THAT PEOPLE FELT THAT WAY.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, YOU CAN EXPLAIN YOURSELF.
I GET YOUR FEELINGS BEHIND IT, I UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED, BUT
THAT WASN'T WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO AND NO HARD FEELINGS, I DON'T
MEAN TO COME OFF THAT WAY.
I'M NOT GETTING THE BEST WORD FOR IT, BUT TO GET ANGRY AT
PEOPLE FOR THEIR AUTOMATIC REACTION DOESN'T REALLY
HELP EITHER.
BUT IT'S, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
BUT IF THE AUTOMATIC REACTION IS, THIS PERSON IS A RACIST.
I MEAN, THICK ABOUT THAT.
THAT IS THE THING THAT IS REALLY DIFFICULT AS ANYONE WHO'S IN THE
LIMELIGHT, OR WHO IS A PUBLIC FIGURE.
YOU DO SOMETHING WITHOUT ANY MALICE OR BAD INTENT, AND
PEOPLE START LABELING YOU AS A RACIST AND IT JUST SUCKS
BECAUSE IT'S DEFAMATORY AND IT'S NOT WHO SHE IS, IT'S NOT WHO SHE
ñ IT'S NOT WHAT YOU MEANT.
ANOTHER THING IS, LOOK, THIS IS WHAT MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS,
ASIDE FROM ELLEN BEING CALLED RACIST.
RACISM DEFINITELY EXISTS, AS WE ALL KNOW, SERIOUS CASES OF
RACISM WHERE BLACK PEOPLE AT DISTORTION ONLY TARGETED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT; WHERE YOU HAVE MORE BLACK PEOPLE BEING THROWN IN
PRISON FOR THE EXACT SAME CRIMES THAT WHITE INDIVIDUALS ARE
DOING, AND WHEN SO YOU HAVE ñ SO WHEN YOU HAVE STORIES LIKE THIS,
THESE ARE THE STORIES THAT UNFORTUNATELY GET MORE
ATTENTION, THEN THE DISPROPORTIONATE TARGETING
OF POLICE AND ALL THAT.
SO PEOPLE WILL SEE STORIES LIKE THIS AND GO, YOU SEE THAT?
WE HAVE CONQUERED RACISM, THEY ARE MAKING SOMETHING OUT OF
NOTHING.
AND I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, I WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE REAL
INSTANCES OF RACISM SERIOUSLY.
LUCKILY I'M GOING TO RESOLVE ALL OF THIS.
JAYAR IS RIGHT WITH HIS HISTORY OF STUDS AND ALL THAT, ETC.,
BUT, ELLEN IS LESBIAN, SO DOESN'T QUITE FIT, SO AGAIN
CONTEXT MATTERS.
BUT I THINK THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE A VISCERAL REACTION TO IT, I GET
WHAT JAYAR IS A SAYING, OKAY YOU HAD A VISCERAL REACTION TO IT
BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT OTHERS MIGHT NOT KNOW, AND
THAT'S THE REACTION YOU HAD.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME MIGHT ASK YOU TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT A
LITTLE BIT BECAUSE OF WHAT ANA SAID, WHICH IS, PEOPLE ARE GOING
TO KNOW THAT BLACKS GET ARRESTED FOUR TIMES AS MUCH FOR MARIJUANA
USE THAN WHITES DO, EVEN THOUGH WHITES AND BLACKS USE
MARIJUANA AT THE EXACT SAME RATE.
IF EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTRY KNEW THAT, AND YOU KNEW WHERE THE
REAL RACISM WAS AND HOW MUCH IT MATTERED AND HOW MUCH IT
DESTROYED LIVES, AND THEN YOU ADDED THIS ON TOP, OKAY THEN
THAT'S LESS OF AN ISSUE.
BUT MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS ELLEN
DEGENERES THING THAN THE MARIJUANA FACT, AND THEN
THEY'RE GOING TO GET TO GO, SEE I KNEW IT, IT'S ALL A BUNCH
OF NONSENSE.
THAT WASN'T RACIST AND NOTHING IS RACIST.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE ALL NEED TO BE CALM TOO, AND AS JAYAR
SAID, GO, OKAY THEY HAD A VISCERAL REACTION TO IT,
THEY ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE A VISCERAL REACTION TO IT.
IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD EITHER WAY.
I DON'T THINK ELLEN IS RACIST, I DON'T THINK SHE MEANT
ANYTHING BY IT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT'S OKAY TO SAY TO
THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD THAT REACTION, LET'S TALK IT OUT.
INSTEAD OF BOTH SIDES BEING ANGRY WITH EACH OTHER.
BECAUSE THERE IS REAL RACISM IN THE WORLD AND THERE ARE
REAL RACISTS IN THE WORLD, AND THEY HAVE GOT TO BE CALLED
OUT AND WE DO NOT WANT TO DIMINISH THE POWER OF THAT
BECAUSE THEY HAVE A REAL EFFECT IN THIS WORLD, SO THAT THE
CONVERSATION I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE.
FINALLY, I DO WANT TO GIVE YOU ALLEN'S REACTION TO THE
CRITICISM BECAUSE SHE DID TWEET SOMETHING AFTERWARDS, AND
SHE SAYS, "I AM HIGHLY AWARE OF THE RACISM THAT EXISTS IN
OUR COUNTRY.
IT IS THE FURTHEST THING FROM WHO I AM."
OKAY, GOD BLESS, THAT'S HER NOT FREAKING OUT OVER IT AND
SAYING, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
I FEEL A TONE OF, I KNOW, I KNOW, IN THAT TWEET.
I'M JUST SAYING, YOU HAVE TO SAY SORRY BECAUSE I THINK SHE
DID ANYTHING PARTICULARLY WRONG, BUT JUST BE COOL.
YOU ARE IN THIS PLACE OF NOTORIETY AND YOU HAVE AN EFFECT
ON PEOPLE.
YOU UNKNOWN, IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY, SO JUST
UNDERSTAND THAT.
THAT'S WHERE I DISAGREE WITH YOU, I THINK THAT TWEET WAS
TOTALLY FINE, BECAUSE I WOULDN'T HAVE APOLOGIZED BECAUSE I
DON'T THINK SHE DID ANYTHING WRONG.
I SEE THE TONE THAT YOU ARE IMPLYING IS IN THERE JAYAR, BUT
I THINK THAT'S WHAT SHE AT ñ WHAT SHE INTENDED.
I'M GOING FULL PARDONÖ RIGHT THOUGH, WE HAD THE CONVERSATION.
BECAUSE IS NOT ALWAYS THE PERSON THAT DID IT, AS WE ALL KNOW
THERE'S RACISM IN AMERICA.
THAT WE TALK ABOUT DONALD TRUMP AND HOW HE IS RISING UP
RACISTS, AND HE IS A RACIST TOO, BUT HOW MUCH HE IS RILING
UP FOR HIS OWN ATTENTION.
AND EVEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT TRYING TO, THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS
COUNTRY WHO WILL GO, YEAH, RIDE THAT N-WORD, AND IT'S NOT
GOOD IMAGERY TO SEE ALL THE TIME.
EVEN IF SHE DIDN'T MEET IT.
AND I DON'T THINK SHE DID, IT'S A FUN IMAGE, IT'S A DARKER GUY
WITH WHITE TEETH SMILING SYLLABUS LIKE ALL THESE
OLD-SCHOOL IMAGES THAT YOU SEE OF CARICATURES AND MAKING
THEM THE BUTT OF THE JOKE.
JAYAR I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD EARLIER, I ALREADY MADE A
RULING.
I KNOW, I'M DONE.
THOSE ARE ALL GOOD POINTS, AND FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER
WATCHED THE SHOW BEFORE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, IF I
GIVE A RULING, IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING.
WE ALL GIVE OUR OPINIONS AND THEY ARE ALL JUST AS VALID
MINE MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SO.