Creator of liberal HBO drama “The Wire” David Simon has come under fire for using the N-word in a tweet to refer to Fox News host Sean Hannity and then defending his right to do so.
Simon tweeted the epithet in reference to Donald Trump’s selection of Sean Hannity to host his town hall on African-American issues. Simon wanted to mock Hannity’s selection and quoted another tweet, adding this comment: “Hannity, my n—a! If they couldn’t get Ta-Nehisi or Deray to host, then who but you on the pulse of black America?”
Simon defended his use of the slur, saying that he ended it in an “a” rather than its usual “er” spelling. “Used as sarcasm against Sean Hannity as the birther candidate’s interlocutor to black voters? I’ll play it,” he wrote.
Hannity’s Twitter response was part jab back, part dismissaldavid : “Maybe it’s just your ignorance about conservatives, or maybe you are just a malicious a—hole. Either way idc. Night.”
Others on Twitter took Simon to task, as well.