WATCH Terry Crews Double Down On His ‘Black Supremacy’ Tweet Despite Backlash
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Terry Crews made a recent appearance on The Talk and took time to clarify comments he made on Twitter about “black supremacy.” Originally, these comments caused quite the controversy in the wake of the death of George Floyd that sparked worldwide protests seeking justice. But for him, he has no regrets about tweeting and starting such an important conversation about social justice issues.
Before posting his tweets that sent the world into a frenzy, Crews posted an Instagram video to speak out about the death of Floyd. In the video, he said “George Floyd looks like me. I could clearly be the man on the ground with the police officer’s knee on my neck.” For him, the situation was relatable as he has experienced his own run-ins with police or white men who were discriminatory towards him. He also said that he could have been Ahmaud Arbery who was shot and killed by two white men while he was jogging. Both Floyd’s and Arbery’s deaths sparked protests around the country for justice.
Terry Crews Is Standing By The ‘Black Supremacy’ Comments He Made
Crews’ original tweet said “Defeating White supremacy without White people creates Black supremacy. Equality is the truth. Like it or not, we are all in this together.” People genuinely questioned if he was saying that black supremacy exists and why. But, in this talk show appearance, he tried to further explain what he meant by this tweet. “In black America, we have gatekeepers. We have people who have decided … who is going to be black and who’s not. And I simply — because I have a mixed-race wife [Rebecca King] — have been discounted from the conversation, a lot of times, by very, very militant movements, black power movements,” he said.
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America’s Got Talent host continued on to say “I’ve been called all kinds of things — like an Uncle Tom — simply because I’m successful, simply because I’ve worked my way out of Flint, Michigan.” The term Uncle Tom is a derogatory term that refers to a person that has betrayed their culture. The hosts on the show gave Crews the floor as he continued to speak his mind that some may see as controversial.
For Crews, “The problem is that Black people have different views.” He continued on to say that “Blackness is always judged and it’s always put up against this thing. And I’m going, wait a minute, that right there is a supremacist move. You have now put yourself above other black people.”
He Wanted To Encourage Dialogue About This Issue Of Racism
Crews said that using the term “black supremacy” was like saying a curse word in church. Host Sheryl Underwood asked Crews if he regrets using the term “black supremacy.” He said “I can’t really regret it, because I really want the dialogue to come out. Maybe there’s another term that might be better — we’re separatist or elitist…but the thing is, I’ve experienced supremacy even growing up.” Crews brought up personal experiences saying “I’ve had Black people tell me that the white man is the devil. I’ve experienced whole organizations that have viewed themselves because of the suffering of black people, they have decided that now, we are not equal, we are better.” He called this mindset “a mistake.” So it’s pretty safe to say that Crews will not be apologizing for his tweets because they did what he wanted them to do; spark a conversation.
SEE ALSO: AFTER TWITTER BACKLASH, TERRY CREWS SAYS BLACK MEN ARE NOT RECOGNIZED AS VICTIMS ‘UNTIL WE’RE DEAD’
This time, people on Twitter had mixed reactions to Crews further explaining his tweets. Some praised him for sticking by his words and others just simply said he should “shut up.” In either case, Crews will continue to appear on America’s Got Talent as NBC put out a statement that they stand in solidarity with the black community.
