Fox: Jackson used N-word in off-air remarks
CHICAGO (AP) - July 16, 2008 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."