Lil Jon has spoken out on the alleged racism he encountered from Donald Trump while on The Celebrity Apprentice.
The Daily Beast reports that the Republican presidential nominee referred to the rapper as "Uncle Tom" while filming the show in 2013. The racially-charged phrase was historically used to deride black men deemed to be subservient to white people.
According to the website, Trump called Lil Jon the derogatory term during a challenge in which the 45-year-old was dressed up in an Uncle Sam costume.
The Turn Down for What hitmaker was tasked, along with the other celebrity contenders, with mounting competing displays around and inside glass trucks in order to promote hair-care products, and the rapper decided to dress up as in the famous red, white and blue costume.
The Daily Best alleges that during the day’s shoot, Trump began referring to Lil Jon as "Uncle Tom".
Now, the hip hop artist has released a statement on Twitter after the damning report, and said he had called Trump out for using the offensive term.
“When this 'Uncle Tom' incident happened on Celebrity Apprentice in the boardroom several of my castmates and I addressed Mr. Trump immediately when we heard the comment,” he said.
“I can't say if he knew what he was actually saying or not, but he did stop using that term once we explained it's offensiveness. I also want to be clear that I don't agree with many of the statements Mr. Trump has said during his current run for president.”
A spokesperson for the Trump presidential campaign dismissed the report, and told The Daily Beast the allegations were "simply untrue".
The rapper isn't the first celebrity to comment on Trump's behaviour on The Celebrity Apprentice.
Actress and Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, posted a statement on Twitter on Friday (14Oct16), following claims that Trump referred to the former contestant as "retarded" and "would make fun of her voice".
"As a person who is Deaf, as a woman, as a mom, as a wife, as an actor, I have a voice and I'm using that voice to make myself heard... and vote," she tweeted.
