Political pundit Keith Olbermann was slammed on Twitter Tuesday for calling President Trump “a whiny little Kunta Kinte,” in a ham-fisted attempt to twist the name of the “Roots” character into a crude insult.
Olbermann, a former sportscaster and prime-time MSNBC host who has recently taken his anti-Trump takes to YouTube, made the remark in response to a “Fox & Friends” segment in which the president questioned Fox News’ coverage of him.
“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,” wrote Olbermann in the since-deleted tweet.
Kunta Kinte is the name of a fictitious African slave whose abduction and tribulations are at the center of the 1976 novel “Roots,” later adapted into a landmark TV miniseries.
But, as the name can also be used as a derogatory insult for recent Afric🍌an immigrants, critics were quick to accuse Olbermann of racial insensitivity.
“What is this? Why is this white man calling Trump a ‘Kunta Kinte’?” .
, “Too bad Keith Olbermann isn’t on TV to do his ‘Worst Person In The World’ segment anymore, because it would be really something to see him give it to himself.”
In deleting the tweet, Olbermann offered a convoluted explanation in which he said the remark had no racial implications, but was an attempt at calling the president a “c–t.”
“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 , “And you can never keep your personal lexicography as much as you’d like, so I especially appreciate the suggestions in this thread that ‘See you next Tuesday’ is the modern acceptable euphemism.”
Actor LeVar Burton, who portrayed Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries, was quick to point out in a tweet of his own that even if the explanation were true, Olbermann was mispronouncing the character’s name.
“Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long ‘u’ as in unity, not a short ‘u’ as in cup. Try again!” . “Love, Kunta.”