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Jesse
Jackson Used the Word "Nigger" in Off-air Remarks about Obama
(Video)
 (AP) - 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 TVNewser'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.
TV Newser's Report:
Exclusive:
TVNewser has been sent the transcript of what Jesse Jackson said Sunday
morning July 6, as he prepared for an interview on Fox & Friends
Weekend. Below is the partial transcript we received in our tips box,
and confirmed to be authentic by Fox News Channel representatives.
Barack...he's talking down to black people...telling niggers how to behave.
So,
yes. Jesse Jackson did use the "N" word. But it was not directed at
Barack Obama. Fox News and Bill O'Reilly have maintained there was more
on the tape, but that the un-aired portion was not relevant to the
issue at hand: about whether Obama was "talking down" to the black
community.
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."
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