CNN's Lemon shows sign with N-word; Twitter responds
Twitter responded quickly after CNN anchor Don Lemon held up a sign bearing a racial slur and asked viewers if they were offended.
Lemon was trying to spark a conversation about criticism of President Obama's use of the N-word during an interview on comedian Marc Maron's podcast. Obama said the recent slaying of nine African Americans in Charleston, S.C., was proof that the nation is not cured of racism.
"It's not just a matter of it not being polite to say n****r in public," Obama said on the WTF podcast.
On Monday night, Lemon teased a segment on CNN by holding up a confederate flag followed by a banner that said n****r in capital letters. Earlier in the day, Lemon, who is African American, said journalists should be able to use the word if it is "relevant" to a story.
He asked viewers to weigh in on whether the term was a no-go or appropriate. CNN Commentary tweeted, "Here we go: @donlemon with a #ConfederateFlag and a "N*****" banner. "Does this offend you?"
The sign was a perfect canvas for people on Twitter, who quickly Photoshopped in an array of unrelated images. In trying to create a conversation on race relations, Lemon found himself the subject of a new meme.
Here are a few:
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