Jemele Hill (right) tastefully turned down Candace Owens request to an on-air debate. (Images courtesy of Getty Images / YouTube)
Former “SportsCenter” host Jemele Hill was unfazed Monday when conservative commentator Candace Owens challenged her to a debate on racism.
The two engaged in a social media spat after Owens, whose received praise from the likes of President Donald Trump and Kanye West, accused Hill of being used by Democrats “…to paralyze Blacks with undue fear. According to Fox News, their conversation began after Hill quoted a tweet from CNN about a group of anti-gun violence protesters who had shut down an interstate in Chicago.
“BUT WHAT ABOUT CHICAGO?” the sportswriter tweeted in all caps, mocking the rhetoric often spewed by conservatives in the gun debate.
Hill later responded to her critics, adding that Black people “just hate racism.”
“That’s it,” she tweeted. “And that’s the only reason we’ve been labeled as liberal. Some people have turned racism into a political issue when it’s a moral one.”
That’s when the outspoken Owens offered her unsolicited two cents.
“All people hate racism, Jemele,” Owens wrote back. “Haven’t met a single white person that loves being called a cracker, or a Spanish person that prefers being referred to as a sp*c.”
All people hate racism, Jemele.
Haven’t met a single white person that loves being called a cracker, or a Spanish person that prefers being referred to as a sp*c.I’m young though, so there’s still time. https://t.co/RrY9VJ5g0W
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) July 8, 2018
Hill disagreed, writing, “With all due respect, all people do not hate racism.” The ESPN personality took the time to explain why she felt some folks are comfortable with racism.
” … Racism is profitable and worse, comfortable,” wrote Hill, who made headlines last year after calling Trump a white supremacist. “Showing a disdain for slurs is about appearing polite. I’ll be far more impressed when that energy is used to dismantle systems created to crush marginalized peoples.”
With all due respect, all people do not hate racism. Racism is profitable and worse, comfortable. Showing a disdain for slurs is about appearing polite. I’ll be far more impressed when that energy is used to dismantle systems created to crush marginalized peoples. https://t.co/pt0wJQZMQ8
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 9, 2018
The explanation wasn’t enough for Owens, who then challenged her to a debate on the topic.
Racism is definitely profitable—on that we agree. It’s why Dems use people like you to continually speak about it.
The goal is to paralyze blacks with undue fear, keeping us enslaved to ideologies that continue to fail us.
Would love to discuss this w/ you on @RubinReport. https://t.co/0tfrjOnqMc— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) July 9, 2018
Owens added that she’d love to discuss the issue on The Rubin Report, which Fox News says bills itself as “the largest talk show about free speech and big ideas on YouTube.”
“ … If you truly believe what you believe, and your goal is to educate— then the greatest thing that we can do is to respectfully debate so that the many people that follow us can understand the source of our perspective,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.
Hill didn’t take the bait, however, and left Owens on read. When asked by a critic if she would take the conservative pundit up on her offer, Hill had this to say:
I find it so strange that people make these kinds of requests often. Is this pay-per-view? The implication is that anybody tagged in this has to validate their viewpoint. https://t.co/gaE4Efu2fz
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 9, 2018
It wasn’t long before Owens fired back.
“This seems like a long-winded way to admit that you don’t possess the intellect to back up your assertions,” she wrote.
This seems like a long-winded way to admit that you don’t possess the intellect to back up your assertions.
This seems to be the case for all people that chirp the loudest about how racist America is.
I wonder why. 🤔 https://t.co/GvnNSQftS6
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) July 9, 2018
Still, Hill walked away unscathed and unbothered.
I’m good luv. Enjoy. https://t.co/e8wNEa8F9e
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 9, 2018
