On Friday night, Lil Jon responded to a report alleging that the Republican nominee for president had repeatedly referred to him as “Uncle Tom” while he was a cast member on Celebrity Apprentice in 2011.
“When this ‘Uncle Tom’ incident happened on Celebrity Apprentice in the boardroom several of my castmates and I addressed Mr. Trump immediately when we heard the comment,” Lil Jon said in a statement. “I can’t say if he knew what he was actually saying or not, but he did stop using that term once we explained it’s offensiveness.”
The “Get Low” rapper added, “I also want to be clear that I don’t agree with many of the statements Mr. Trump has said during his current run for President.”
On Friday, The Daily Beast reported on allegations that Donald Trump had referred to Lil Jon as “Uncle Tom” when the rapper was in fact dressed as Uncle Sam for a competition on the show. According to a former Apprentice employee, multiple staffers and cast members rushed to inform Trump that his words constituted a racial slur. Despite this, he continued to use the words around the set.
Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks denied the allegations, telling the Daily Beast that the story was “simply untrue.”
(Via Entertainment Weekly)