It’s only been one day since Terry Crews tweeted and came under fire as he urged people to, "ensure #blacklivesmatter doesn’t morph into #blacklivesbetter." Many took to social media to condemn his comments, including comedian Amanda Seales and Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King. On Tuesday, Crews appeared virtually on journalist Rolan Martin’s talk show Rolan Martin Unfiltered and responded to his critics.
Appearing in a video call, Crews used his appearance on Martin’s talk show to address the wave of criticism he’s currently receiving for his out-of-touch tweets.
“I didn’t go on ABC or NBC to do this. This is my Twitter, this is my private network! And I’m being told to shut up, be quiet, don’t say anything, just keep it shut. You’re a coon, don’t say anything,” he said.
“And this is the thing, it’s really weird because I realize, some Black lives matter more than others because they don’t want me as a Black man to talk, because with anything it’s like ‘You gon make us look bad’ but the deal is, I don’t care about how we look, I care about how we are," he added. "We have to really examine these things within each other. There’s colorism going on, there’s still the light skin, dark skin thing happening…”
After a clip of the interview was posted to The Shade Room, followers of the page went in on the 51-year-old actor, writing:
“Why does he keep talking?,” "Hey Terry, I see you got your clown outfit like you always do,” “I heard the cooness before the video even started,” and more.
One commenter even joked: “I’m starting to think he wasn’t acting in White Chicks.”
This isn’t the first time Terry Crews is being criticized for his racial politics. In early June, Crews was criticized for a tweet where he referenced Black supremacy.