Ellen DeGeneres of all people was in the Internet’s crosshairs earlier this week for a photo and tweet that had some accusing her of racism.
The talk show host thought she was celebrating another dominant performance by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt after he won yet another gold medal in the 100 meters at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
One day after Bolt’s gold medal performance, DeGeneres tweeted the following photoshopped picture, with her on the sprinter’s back as he cruised to the finish line in a qualifying race, a photo that has received plenty of attention in recent days.
This is how I’m running errands from now on. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/gYPtG9T1ao
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) August 15, 2016
Some viewed the photoshopped meme as racist, claiming Ellen implied she was “riding on the back of a black man.”
https://twitter.com/MikeAllen_47/status/765332700194443264
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And there obviously were more.
For what it’s worth, plenty of Twitter users also came to DeGeneres’ defense, arguing it was supposed to be a light-hearted commentary on Bolt’s Olympics dominance.
Bolt apparently wasn’t too bothered by the tweet, either. He actually retweeted the original — one of more than 33,000 people to do so as of Wednesday morning.
A day after the original tweet, DeGeneres followed up with this clarification.
I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) August 16, 2016
Thumbnail photo via James Lang/USA TODAY Sports Images
