Obama uses N-word to argue racism is alive in America
U.S. President Barack Obama's use of a racial epithet in an interview with Marc Maron of the WTF podcast has reignited the ongoing debate on the use of the N-word.
The comment came when Obama was speaking about the legacy of slavery on present-day America. Obama explained that systemic discrimination is "still part of our DNA."
"We're not cured of [racism]. And it's not a matter of it not being polite to say 'nigger' in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination," he said.
"Societies don't overnight completely erase everything that happened 200-300 years prior," said Obama, during the WTF podcast interview.
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The interview was recorded Friday, but released Monday morning. Maron spoke to Obama about everything ranging from his childhood, race in America, parenting to gun violence.
Soon after the release of the podcast this morning, many have started to criticize Obama for his uncensored use of the N-word.
A Fox News guest called Obama the "rapper-in-chief" to criticize his choice to use the word.
Since the podcast release, the phrase "N-word" has been trending on Twitter.
However, many have also praised the president for what they called an honest discussion about race in the United States.
Congrats to <a href="https://twitter.com/marcmaron">@marcmaron</a> on a very warm and human interview with <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS">@potus</a>. Great job. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wtf?src=hash">#wtf</a>
—@michaelianblackIf anyone has the right to use the n word, it's <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS">@POTUS</a>. PERIOD. NICE PODCAST! <a href="https://twitter.com/marcmaron">@marcmaron</a> loved it!!
—@VegasJessieIf <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/POTUS?src=hash">#POTUS</a> , the most scrutinized human on Earth can speak w/ complete honesty on racism in the U.S., why can't our news outlets? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wtfobama?src=hash">#wtfobama</a>
—@igregbachVery, very, very proud of <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS">@POTUS</a> for getting raw, candid & real on race, and what it will take to heal. <a href="http://t.co/wEL7raMs2b">http://t.co/wEL7raMs2b</a>
—@joshuadubois"How come only black presidents get to use the n-word?" Kill me now.
—@HeerJeetMaron spoke to Vulture soon after the taping of the interview and said he felt good about it and that he thought he got what he wanted out of it.
"I think he said some things that he hasn't said before about some politics, and at least it felt that way to me and it wasn't really what I was looking for," Maron told Vulture.