ESPN host Jemele Hill stirred up controversy this week after she dubbed Donald Trump a white supremacist for his many acts of hate and offensive rhetoric. Many of Hill’s fans couldn’t see the lie in her comments, but ESPN issued a statement shortly after, claiming that her actions were “inappropriate.” ESPN may not have been ready to take a stand against Trump, but many Twitter users have spoken out in support of Hill.
“The comments on Twitter from Jemele Hill regarding the President do not represent the position of ESPN. We have addressed this with Jemel and she recognizes her actions were inappropriate,” ESPN wrote in a statement. The subtle apology note was in response to Hill tweeting that the president was a “white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”
ESPN’s spineless apology triggered quite a big reaction online. “How you more offended by @jemelehill’s tweets than you are Trump’s rhetoric that caused the tweets,” The Breakfast Club’s Charlamagne Tha God tweeted. Free agent and activist,Colin Kaepernick also tweeted in solidarity with Hill, writing “we are with you!”
https://twitter.com/cthagod/status/907943508123815936
We are with you @jemelehill ✊?
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 13, 2017
I'm glad to see Black men and White folks standing up for Jemele Hill. It should always be this way. Keep going!
— Jamilah Lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) September 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/907801875705077762
As an actor who plays a journalist who speaks the needed truth, I couldn't be more proud of my friend @jemelehill #BeingMaryJane is real
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) September 13, 2017
ESPN Statement on Jemele Hill:
It's inapproapriate to call a racist a racist, and she knows that.
So sick and cowardly. https://t.co/QNVqTJ2B2N
— Black Big Lebowski (@LaJethroJenkins) September 12, 2017
Gabrielle Union also joined in the discussion. “As an actor who plays a journalist who speaks the needed truth, I couldn’t be more proud of my friend @jemelehill #BeingMaryJane is real,” the actress wrote.
Hill joined ESPN as a national columnist in 2006. After various roles within the network, she became co-anchor of ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter in Feb. 2017. She has not offered another statement amid ESPN’s remarks.