CHICAGO - The Rev. Jesse Jackson used the N-word during a break in a
TV interview where he criticized presidential candidate Barack Obama, Fox
News confirmed Wednesday.
The longtime civil rights leader already came under fire this month for crude
off-air comments he made against Obama in what he thought was a private
conversation during a taping of a "Fox & Friends" news show.
In additional comments from that same conversation, first reported by
TVNewser, Jackson is reported to have said Obama was "talking down to
black people," and referred to blacks with the N-word when he said Obama
was telling them "how to behave."
Though a Fox spokesman confirmed the TVNewer's account to The
Associated Press, the network declined to release the full transcript of the
July 6 show and did not air the comments.
Jackson — who is traveling in Spain — apologized in a statement
Wednesday for "hurtful words" but didn't offer specifics.
"I am deeply saddened and distressed by the pain and sorrow that I have
caused as a result of my hurtful words. I apologize again to Senator Barack
Obama, Michelle Obama, their children as well as to the American public,"
Jackson said in a written statement. "There really is no justification for my
comments and I hope that the Obama family and the American public will
forgive me. I also pray that we, as a nation, can move on to address the real
issues that affect the American people."
A spokeswoman for Jackson's civil rights organization, Rainbow/PUSH
Coalition, said she could not confirm that Jackson used the slur.
Jackson has called on the entertainment industry, including rappers, actors
and studios, to stop using the N-Word. He also urged the public to boycott
purchasing DVD copies of the TV sitcom "Seinfeld" after co-star Michael
Richards was taped using the word during a rant at a Los Angeles comedy
club in 2006.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has joined Jackson in opposition of the word,
said Wednesday he wanted to hear the comments for himself and declined
to discuss Jackson specifically.
"I am against the use of the N-word by anyone and I think we must be
consistent," he told The Associated Press. "We must not use the word."
TV interview where he criticized presidential candidate Barack Obama, Fox
News confirmed Wednesday.
The longtime civil rights leader already came under fire this month for crude
off-air comments he made against Obama in what he thought was a private
conversation during a taping of a "Fox & Friends" news show.
In additional comments from that same conversation, first reported by
TVNewser, Jackson is reported to have said Obama was "talking down to
black people," and referred to blacks with the N-word when he said Obama
was telling them "how to behave."
Though a Fox spokesman confirmed the TVNewer's account to The
Associated Press, the network declined to release the full transcript of the
July 6 show and did not air the comments.
Jackson — who is traveling in Spain — apologized in a statement
Wednesday for "hurtful words" but didn't offer specifics.
"I am deeply saddened and distressed by the pain and sorrow that I have
caused as a result of my hurtful words. I apologize again to Senator Barack
Obama, Michelle Obama, their children as well as to the American public,"
Jackson said in a written statement. "There really is no justification for my
comments and I hope that the Obama family and the American public will
forgive me. I also pray that we, as a nation, can move on to address the real
issues that affect the American people."
A spokeswoman for Jackson's civil rights organization, Rainbow/PUSH
Coalition, said she could not confirm that Jackson used the slur.
Jackson has called on the entertainment industry, including rappers, actors
and studios, to stop using the N-Word. He also urged the public to boycott
purchasing DVD copies of the TV sitcom "Seinfeld" after co-star Michael
Richards was taped using the word during a rant at a Los Angeles comedy
club in 2006.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has joined Jackson in opposition of the word,
said Wednesday he wanted to hear the comments for himself and declined
to discuss Jackson specifically.
"I am against the use of the N-word by anyone and I think we must be
consistent," he told The Associated Press. "We must not use the word."
Fox: Jackson used N-word in
crude off-air remarks