Ellen DeGeneres Sparks Outrage After Deleting Tone-Deaf Tweet

Ellen DeGeneres is in hot water over a since-deleted tweet regarding the black community.

On Wednesday (June 3), Twitter users recovered a tweet DeGeneres shared over the weekend, seemingly in support of worldwide protests regarding the fatal arrest of George Floyd, the unarmed Black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while apprehending him.

“Like so many of you, I am angry and I am sad,” DeGeneres wrote, per screenshots of the now-deleted tweet shared Saturday (May 30). “People of color in this country have faced injustice for far too long. For things to change, things must change. We must commit ourselves to this change with conviction and with love.”

Despite the well-meaning sentiments of DeGeneres’ message, users on social media were not happy about the TV host’s use of the phrase “people of color" instead of referring to black people specifically.

“Not people of color. George Floyd was black. Why are being so cautious? Serious ?” one user tweeted, as another added, “Say black people Ellen.”

Someone else wrote: “1) it’s black people 2) it’s not love if you just mean “sweetly imploring oppressed people to stop damaging property 3) donate more money. you’re mates with war criminals.”

After erasing the tweet, DeGeneres clarified her stance in another tweet the following day. “I support the protestors who are exercising their rights and standing up against the horrible injustices that Black people in America face everyday [sic],” she wrote with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

She also pledged donations to several organizations supporting the cause, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the George Floyd Memorial Fund, and Black Lives Matter.

Then, on Monday (June 2), DeGeneres got on video to double down on her thoughts.

“I know I’m not going to say the right thing,” she started. “I know that there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be in disagreement with what I say. I have always wanted to be the voice for people that felt like they didn’t have a voice because I know what that feels like. Maybe you don’t agree with how it’s coming out, but you have to understand it, and then we can heal it.”

DeGeneres has been embroiled in unending controversies this year, so much that the star has been reportedly fed up with the accusations.

Photo: Getty Images


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