Questlove Responds to Bill O’Reilly’s Slavery Comments
Images via Wikimedia Commons
Michelle Obama gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention earlier this week, with many applauding her incredibly powerful comments. It didn’t take long, however, for Fox News host Bill O’Reilly to jump in and have his say. Responding to Michelle’s “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves” comment, O’Reilly responded with one of the most disgusting “Well, actually,” comments of all time, saying that the slaves were “well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government.”
Questlove of The Roots has now responded to O’Reilly comments, posting a lengthy Instagram ripping him apart. Taking to Instagram, Questlove wrote, “There is nothing more dangerous than a man in a suit pretending to be a journalist giving revisionist history on the ugliness that was slavery. Slavery was inhumane. Slavery was sadistic. Slavery was uncomfortable. Slavery was unjust. Slavery was a nightmare. Slavery was a despicable act. Slavery is the pebble whose ripple in the river still resonates on and on and on and on.”
The post continues, “What’s so fun and lighthearted about being shackled? Being separated from your loved ones? Being molested and raped HOURLY, being branded with hot iron? Being property? Being castrated? Being flogged? Being malnourished? Living in high stress conditions? Forced to lay in your own feces? being sold in a heartbeat?”
O’Reilly has since responded to the backlash for his initial response, saying, “As any honest historian knows, in order to keep slaves and free laborers strong, the Washington administration provided meat, bread and other staples, also decent lodging on the grounds of the new presidential building. That is a fact. Not a justification, not a defense of slavery.”
Read Questlove’s full Instagram post below.
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