Morgan Freeman Sparks Outcry After Calling Tea Party Racist

Morgan Freeman polarized viewers when he described the Tea Party as having a racist agenda in its opposition of President Barack Obama.

The Dolphin Tale star, who made the comments in an interview on CNN’s Piers Morgan that aired Friday night, said the Tea Party’s “stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What… underlines that? Screw the country. We’re going to do whatever we do to get this black man.. .outta here.” [Watch the video below.]

VIDEO: Morgan Freeman Tells CNN’s Piers Morgan That Tea Party Is Racist

His comments immediately sparked a slew of reactions around the Web, with people hitting Twitter, Facebook and the comments section of THR’s own story to weigh in. Their reactions clearly put them in one of two camps, either supporting or criticizing the actgor.

Among those disagreeing:

Chuck actor Adam Baldwin
Dear Morgan Freeman: Respectfully, U’re wrong. It’s the content of Obama’s character & policies, not the color of his skin, that’s at issue.

Kallan
Sounds like #MorganFreeman may be racist himself, cmon Morgan, thought you were smarter than that

John Podhoretz
If Morgan Freeman is right, and we dislike Obama because of racism, why do we like Morgan Freeman?

Win Griff
morgan freeman. You can’t be that stoopid, can you?? Well, since you’re an Obama man, yes, I guess you can. Too bad.

Steve
So .. if I disagree & don’t support Obama then Morgan Freeman labels me as a racist. What an idiot & left wing fool! MF is the racist here!!

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Josh Featherstone
Ugh. Let’s stop playing the race card, please.

Lslsmusic452
I’m so sick and tired of anyone who doesn’t like Obama being called racist.  That is such BS.  Morgan Freeman is a racist.  He hates white people.  Geez louise people can we move beyond saying these things and just stick to the issues?  Obama wasn’t qualified to be President and I think his record in the office speaks loud and clearly for itself.  And it doesn’t have anything to do with the color of his skin.

Matti9
Wow, I am so sad and disappointed in Morgan Freeman.  I thought he was more intelligent than that.

Dmills20
I am 70 and have always thought that Morgan Freeman was a very talented actor and a smart man to have had such an illustrious career, however for him to claim that the Tea Parties are racist, simply because they believe Mr. Obama, to be a most incompetent President, simply because he is black is just plain ignorant.   He would be incompetent no matter what his race.  

Lin Shukla
Question to all, including him, who believes the racism assertion: Have you ever actually been to a TEA Party event? I have, and racism of any kind is NOT permitted. Nor are any threats of violence to anyone.

Gary Parks
I’m surprised he would say such a thing. If a black person opposed Bush does that make them racist??? No it does not.

Diana Moss
Morgan’s a race baiting racist for suggesting the Tea Party is racist …

Yet other applauded Freeman for his remarks:

Hank Ernest
He’s damn right!!!

VIDEO: Matt Damon Slams Tea Party, Republicans for Handling of Debt Ceiling Crisis

John Fowler
They are and they make no bones about it. In fact, they rub it in the face of society that is stunned by such boldness

WINESIP52
WAKE UP YOU ARE LIVING IN A MAKE BELIEVE WORLD, IF YOU THINK  THERE’S  NOT A DARK AND HATEFUL UNDERSIDE OF AMERICAN’S, THE TEA PARTY CARES ABOUT ONE THING   GET THAT BLACK MAN OUT OF OFFICE  AND THAT’S ALL  !! HATE HATE HATE  !

AnnTares
Yes, thanks, Morgan on Morgan. I worked in the civil rights movement when African Americans lost their sharecropper homes because they registered to vote in 1963 …and still didn’t get to the voting booth in Fayette County (Tent City) Tn. Some were beaten, shot at. And Tennessee is not even deep South. Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner had not yet been slaughtered. The Tea Party people today claim not to be racist but I hear echoes of the same phrases I heard from people who claimed efforts in the 1960s to enforce voting rights for all American citizens were dangerous actions by outsiders, the government, etc. The people who fought voting rights are still alive.

Chaz Harris

most of the Tea Party are racist, homophobic and just downright crazy. at least they have been in all the interviews I’ve watched lol

Constance Smith

I could have told him that. Anybody with common sense would no they are racist.

Anita Aceves Young
I agree with him. They sure as hell ARE!

Myron Greenfield
Of course the Tea Party is racist…duh!

Monica Pege
Love this man…

God
Morgan Freeman saith the Tea Party is racist. I know not if that is true. All I know is when Morgan Freeman saith anything, it SOUNDS true.