Yikes! Don King stirred up some controversy after he used the n-word while introducing Donald Trump during an event at a church (yes, a church) in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 21.
Speaking at a meeting of black pastors at the New Spirit Revival Center, the legendary boxing promoter, 85, uttered the racial epithet while discussing how African Americans are categorized in the United States. During the speech, Trump, 70, grinned while sitting just a few feet away.
“If you are poor, you are a poor negro. … If you are rich, you are a rich negro,” King said. “If you are a talented intellectual, you are an intellectual negro.”
The Cleveland native then slipped up and said, “If you are a dancing and sliding and gliding n—er — I mean negro,” before chuckling at his mistake. “You are going to be a negro ’til you die.”
Moments later, the Republican presidential candidate took the stage and called King a “phenomenal persona,” adding, “Ah, there’s only one Don King.”
King’s appearance at the campaign event was controversial in and of itself. The star was convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 1966 after stomping a man (who owed him $600) to death. After King was released on parole after serving five years in jail, Ohio Governor James Rhodes pardoned him for the crime in 1983.
The Republican Party barred the boxing promoter, who endorsed Trump for president, from speaking at the Republican National Convention earlier this year due to his conviction.
Watch a clip from King’s speech in the video above.
