Keith Olbermann Posts Racist Anti-Trump Tweet, Then Deletes It

Keith Olbermann has stepped in it again.

On Tuesday, the former ESPN host, whose TDS symptoms have driven him into Joker-like insanity, posted a tweet critical of President Trump. But in so doing, he committed a racism. Imagine that.

On Election Day Olbermann posted a tweet saying, “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”

For those who don’t know, Kunta Kinte is the titular character in a 1977 TV miniseries called “Roots,” a fictional story that tells of an African man who is taken from his country to the United States to be a slave. The character, who was played by LeVar Burton, has become a well-known mainstay in the black community.

Naturally, black Twitter pounced, eviscerating Olbermann for his tone-deaf tweet. Some surmised that he was actually using the name as a clever way to call Trump the “c” word.

Here are some of the responses:

A "whiny little Kunta Kinte?"
I'm not fully fluent in WhiteSpeak, but it *feels* like Keith Olbermann just said "nigger." pic.twitter.com/iKfGzCLlYP

— the artist formerly known as haitreason (@thurgoodhamer) November 3, 2020

Don't worry @KeithOlbermann
I won't let the twitter forget.

"Whiny little Kunta Kinte" he says 🤔
I get it, you hate Trump. So "Whiny little Kunta Kinte" is logically the obvious insult for him.

Mind explaining what that means and why you thought it was wise to type it. pic.twitter.com/ua6ndQz5XY

— BLACK⛰️ HOTEP (@NyeusiHotep) November 3, 2020

Keith Olbermann legitimately just ascended to the final form on the Leftist Evolution Tree:

The Racist. pic.twitter.com/Oz3T3s7jMj

— M͓̽a͓̽l͓̽c͓̽o͓̽l͓̽m͓̽ ͓̽F͓̽l͓̽e͓̽X (@Malcolm_fleX48) November 3, 2020

Man he really got y'all saying the quiet part out loud https://t.co/mCsLeRNnJn

— Harbinger ☄️ (@OmenPilot) November 3, 2020

Me trying to figure out why a white man would call another white man Kunta Kinte pic.twitter.com/GKeolpOY1W

— Khan the Conqueror (@TerrellKhan_) November 3, 2020

But the most humorous tweet came from LeVar Burton himself. “Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long “u” as in unity, not a short “u” as in cup. Try again! Love, Kunta,” he tweeted.

Dear @KeithOlbermann, #Kunta is pronounced with a long “u” as in unity, not a short “u” as in cup.

Try again!

Love,
Kunta

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) November 3, 2020

Olbermann later deleted the tweet and posted another, issuing an apology and explaining his mistake:

“Just logged back in: I apologize for my previous subtweet of this. 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”

Just logged back in: I apologize for my previous subtweet of this. 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 https://t.co/hIIrt1Ke17

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 3, 2020

Olbermann may have been ignorant as to the appropriate pronunciation of “Kunta.” But that doesn’t mean he’s off the hook. He is more than old enough to know who the Kunta Kinte character is and why cynically using him as a political attack against Trump could easily be construed as racist. Perhaps he thought black folks would find it funny — but if that’s the case, this moment is about as cringey as Biden talking about black kids leg hairs.

At least, in this case, Olbermann didn’t get a pass on his racist tweet just because he hates Trump. Even now, Twitter users are continuing to bash him. But this, ladies and gentleman, is a prime example of what happens when a TDS patient suffers from this particular mental illness for years without treatment: They end up saying stupid sh*t on Twitter.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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