"CNN Tonight" host Don Lemon opened his show on Monday night by holding up both a Confederate flag and an uncensored sign that included the N-word -- an act that is getting quite a bit of attention.
"This is what America is talking about right now. Does this offend you?" Lemon said while holding up a Confederate flag. "It's a Confederate flag. Is it a symbol of southern pride or a symbol of hate?"
But it's what he did next that's sparking fury, as Lemon then proceeded to hold up an unredacted sign with the N-word on it, asking viewers whether the word bothers them.
"Does this offend you -- this word?" Lemon asked. "President Obama said it out loud in an interview, and a lot of people are shocked."
Watch Lemon's opening monologue below:
It didn't take long for people to take to social media to react, with some critics Photoshopping the N-word and replacing it with other images and text, USA Today reported.
Here are just some of the reactions swirling on Twitter:
Read the ongoing comments about Lemon's on-air act here.
As TheBlaze previously reported, Obama used the N-word during an interview this week on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast.
"Racism, we are not cured of it, and it’s not just a matter of it not being polite to say n***** in public," Obama said. "That’s not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."
(H/T: Mediaite)
