Rev. Jesse Jackson Caught Using The “N-Word”
Reverend Al Sharpton expressed his disappointment with Reverend Jesse Jackson during his off-camera comments mostly because he used the ‘n-word’ along with a crude remark about Senator Barack Obama. Jackson made it clear that he was not calling Obama that name - but was using it to refer to African-Americans.
Jackson, who previously apologized for the comment he made about wanting to cut off Obama’s testicles, apologized again Wednesday after TVNewser broke the news about what else he said. Sharpton said it is “disheartening” to learn about Jackson’s use of the N-word.
“I have said, and many of those in other groups, NAACP and others, that we’ve all used it in the past and we’ve got to stop it as we challenge this nation,” Sharpton added on CBS News’ The Early Show this morning. “You can’t challenge others without challenging ourselves. So this is disheartening, and I still hold Reverend Jackson in high esteem. But I certainly do not at all condone the use of the word.” The Early Show’s report is here:
Fox News Channel last night confirmed the news about what Jackson said, but did not release the video or a transcript of it. Jackson made the comments in front of a live microphone during a break when he was taping an interview for Fox.
FNC’s Bill O’Reilly said Wednesday that the network didn’t report on Jackson’s use of the racial epithet previously because “I’m not in the business of hurting Jesse Jackson - because it does hurt Jesse Jackson - and I’m not in the business of creating some kind of controversy that’s not relevant to the general subject: one civil rights leader disparaging another over policy. So we held it back. Some weasel leaked it to the Internet.”