Steve Harvey is under fire for remarks made in response to a caller’s comments about the Cleveland Cavaliers while on-air during the “Steve Harvey Morning Show.”
The caller, who says he was from Flint, Michigan, said that the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t “deserve jack” after losing in the 2017 NBA Finals. Instead of trying to reason with the caller, Harvey, a Cavs fan and a former resident of Cleveland, resorted to jokes about Flint’s water crisis. He says they were in jest, however, a lot of feathers were ruffled.
“You from Flint? That’s why y’all ain’t even got clean water,” he said. “When was the last time you touched water and it didn’t have lead in it?”
After his co-hosts told him to tone down some of his comments, Harvey tried to explain what he meant.
“I wasn’t talking about the city of Flint, I was talking about him,” he continued. “He going to call in, say Cleveland don’t deserve jack, and he over there bathing in all that silver water.”
“One more thing,” he told the caller before hanging up. “Enjoy your nice brown glass of water.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver asked Harvey to apologize for his tasteless comments, writing in a letter, “While I feel it was not meant to be an intentional hurt or insult against the citizens of this community, it was. To make a joke out of a tragedy such as this was in very poor taste, especially coming from someone of your stature.”
Harvey issued a statement amidst the backlash, where he said that he had “great affection and respect” for.
“The and the caller laughed as my joke was taken in the context it was offered,” he said.
Flint is not a joke @IAmSteveHarvey @SteveHarveyFM please apologize #FlintWaterCrisis #Flint #FlintLivesMatter #PeopleDied pic.twitter.com/uOSPQsOkFR
— Little Miss Flint (@LittleMissFlint) June 14, 2017