Comedian Chris Rock sure knows how to get the attention of a crowd, and his July 4th tweet — which went viral — proves just that.
The entertainer tweeted, “Happy white peoples Independence Day the slaves weren’t free but I’m sure they enjoyed fireworks,” to his nearly 875,000 followers.
His words definitely stirred up some after-Fourth of July fireworks on Twitter. Some took offense to his words, like libertarian blogger Jeff Schreiber. He replied, “Slavery existed for 2000 years before America. We eradicated it in 100 years. We now have a Black POTUS.” Another tweeter wrote, “Dear @ChrisRock: Without July 4, 1776, December 6, 1865 wouldn’t have happened.”
However, other followers praised Rock for his remarks. “Chris Rock was making a joke,” actor Don Cheadle wrote after he retweeted the message. “If you don’t think it’s funny. OK. But keep it in perspective.”
Elon James White, of the web show This Week in Blackness told the Huffington Post that he thinks the backlash is ridiculous. “If more people were like Rock and acknowledged the truth maybe we’d be in a better place as a Nation.”
Chris Rock is known to say a few controversial words here and there and for being unapologetic about it. He’s yet to respond to the backlash.
What do you think about Chris Rock’s Twitter message? Should he be criticized for calling the Fourth of July “White People’s Independence Day?
