Hillary Clinton comes under fire for role in #ColoredPeopleTime joke

A comic gag turned into a gaffe for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, triggering a social media storm that raged through Tuesday over what some said was their insensitivity to African-Americans.

New York voters head to the polls next week for the primary election on April 19. While Clinton has strong support from black voters, some supporters worry that Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders has begun making inroads with them.

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Clinton and de Blasio took the stage on Saturday at the Inner Circle, an annual media roast of politicians that traditionally ends with New York's mayor delivering a snarky rebuttal in the form of a rehearsed skit, often with the help of Broadway cast members.

This year Leslie Odom Jr., who is black and plays Aaron Burr in the hit Broadway show Hamilton, participated in the planned joke. In the skit, Clinton kidded de Blasio about his delay in endorsing her bid for the White House.

"Sorry, Hillary, I was running on C.P. Time," de Blasio said, referring to the phrase "coloured people time" used to indicate chronic lateness.

"I don't like jokes like that," Odom said.

Clinton then added: "'Cautious politician time.' I've been there."

The joke quickly led to an angry reaction on social media, with commentators criticizing Clinton and de Blasio for being insensitive to black people.

De Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, is African-American.

De Blasio defended the joke in an appearance on CNN on Monday. "It was clearly a staged event," he said. "I think people are missing the point here."

In a statement on Monday, the mayor's office said, "Let's be clear, in an evening of satire, the only person this was meant to mock was the mayor himself — period. Certainly no one intended to offend anyone."

A spokesman for Clinton's campaign referred to the mayor's statement in response to a request for comment.

A publicist for Hamilton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Daily News put the controversy on its front page on Tuesday with the headline "Skit for Brains."