Kelly Osbourne’s controversial comments about Latino immigrants on “The View” may have been a slip of the tongue, but according to comedian W. Kamau Bell, that doesn’t mean they weren’t racist.
“There’s a fine line between racism and dumb,” Bell said during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon after grimacing through tape of Osbourne implying that Latino immigrants are the only people working low-wage jobs. “But that doesn’t mean the comment wasn’t racist. Because you can be racist and dumb.”
The comedian went on to explain that those kinds of slip-ups are run-of-the-mill for a live talk show like “The View.” In fact, that’s what the audience is expecting when they tune in.
“That’s kind of what they want on ‘The View,’” he said. “They want those kind of statements to be made so she probably got herself a full time job.”
Osbourne’s comments came when she appeared as a guest on Tuesday’s episode of the ABC daytime talk show. The panel was discussing Donald Trump’s favorability among Latino voters, when the former “Fashion Police” host said, “If you kick every Latino out of this country, who is going to be cleaning your toilet Donald Trump?”
“The View” co-host Rosie Perez was quick to push back, saying “Latinos are not the only people doing that.” Though she later tweeted an apology to Osbourne after the show. “My apologies Kelly Osbourne, I took your point wrong-#Trump #Latinos. My bad. You’re heart is so pure & righteous. I adore you,” she wrote.
The comments were addressed on Wednesday’s episode, with Whoopi Goldberg coming to Osbourne’s defense.
Goldberg explained that live television can occasionally lead to slips of the tongue, and Osbourne’s point simply came out wrong. “The point she was actually trying to make is that Donald Trump’s stance on immigration would only end up hurting the people that Donald Trump is counting on,” she said.