BTN STAFF
Jemele Hill and Cari Champion has been facing a little backlash following a segment of their show Cari & Jemele (Won’t) Stick to Sports. The two had Youtubber/boxer Jake Paul on as a guest and asked him if knocking out Nate Robinson was racist.
Question of the week: was @jakepaul KO to Nate Robinson racist? 😭 pic.twitter.com/ogSqHj764s
— VICE TV (@VICETV) December 4, 2020
The question was repeated a couple times by each host which made Paul a little bit agitated. The two women were laughing while asking the question, but social media thought the question was distasteful and corny.
Look, I don’t like Jake Paul in the slightest, but this is an absolute garbage question. Like I honestly don’t know why/how Cari Champion thought this was an intelligent thing to ask. pic.twitter.com/YcJtSJ0JFO
— Hunter Seidler (@BigHseidler) December 8, 2020
They really made me side with Jake Paul with that dumbass question. This was super cringe. Please find new material not on Twitter. Yall embarrassing us @CariChampion @jemelehill https://t.co/cRz44L3vLJ
— S.T.A.T. (@FindMeTN) December 9, 2020
The backlash caused the co-host to go on Twitter to clarify that they were only joking.
Y’all, @jemelehill and I were trolling a troll with permission. This wasn’t an interview with weight. It was sarcastic- y’all need context? Bc if y’all can’t hear the laughing, the bad WiFi connection- smh. So for the outraged! For more context Thurs. at 1130pm on @VICETV 👀. pic.twitter.com/qwIAk2nuUT
— Cari Champion (@CariChampion) December 9, 2020
They accepted the criticism, but dismissed the suggestions that were serious.
nobody is saying you arent permitted to joke, it just that the joke absolutely stunk and you kept doubling down
— Qassem Solemannie Fresh (@ErnstHemingwavy) December 9, 2020