Don Lemon on Monday night held up an uncensored sign with the N-word ahead of a debate about racism and President Obama’s use of the racial epithet, prompting Twitter users to troll him and his placard.
After holding up the sign, the CNN anchor asked, “Does this offend you?” He also held up a Confederate flag, as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday called for the flag to be removed from the state’s capitol grounds.
President Obama recently used the controversial word while discussing that racism still persists in the U.S., sparking a debate over whether it’s appropriate for the President to speak it.
“Racism, we are not cured of. And it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say ‘nigger’ in public,” the President told comedian Marc Maron in an interview published on Monday. “That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination.”
Earlier on Monday, Lemon argued during a heated debate on CNN that it’s appropriate to use the word, and that CNN anchors are permitted to say the N-word as long as they are comfortable with it. Lemon said that it’s fine to use the word “in context” while describing what another person said.
“We should not sanitize that word,” he said. “If you’re using it in context of a story and it is relevant, you should be able to say it. In fact, I encourage people to say it … because you should hear the impact of the word.”
Shortly after Lemon held up the sign, Twitter users quickly trolled the CNN host and criticized his decision to use the sign.
Yes, it does. #DonLemon #CNN #ConfederateFlag pic.twitter.com/S9rrv13Hdj
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) June 23, 2015
well ok @BoingBoing pic.twitter.com/jzPvyRINrL
— darth!™ (@darth) June 23, 2015
don. my man. nine people got shot dead in a church in a state that flies the confederate flag. this ain’t the time. pic.twitter.com/iTvEuFVM6P
— america (@greghoward88) June 23, 2015
Je Suis Don Lemon pic.twitter.com/rdIPHhCSMZ
— Tom Costello (@tcostello) June 23, 2015
ok louis last one because it is sweet tbh @ljmilman pic.twitter.com/8dgz6ulRBM
— darth!™ (@darth) June 23, 2015
Don Lemon, thank you. pic.twitter.com/5seOZ0HHHI
— Brian Emo (@indyluis) June 23, 2015
It’s clear that CNN has become more interested in the controversy Don Lemon garners than in his integrity as a news man.
— Amanda Seales (@amandaseales) June 23, 2015
Best Don Lemon meme pic.twitter.com/ahw8SvW21S
— poeticsocialjustice (@wonder_womanist) June 23, 2015
Watch a clip of Lemon holding up the sign: