Larry Wilmore dedicated a healthy slice of Monday's Nightly Show to defending his controversial White House Correspondents' Dinner remarks regarding U.S. President Barack Obama. Wilmore used the words "my n***a" while addressing Obama at the end of a speech he delivered.
The host took specific aim at Piers Morgan's inability to "conjugate the slur" after Morgan wrote a Daily Mail column criticizing Wilmore's performance as an offensive publicity stunt to garner global attention.
Wilmore, however, sees things differently.
"I'm wrapping up my little speech and giving the president some props," he explained of the evening's big moment. "Then I buttoned it with a little, um, let's say colloquialism."
As Wilmore admitted, this addition attracted a wide array of reactions.
"Many people were upset about it," he said. "Many people supported it. And like the president himself, the reaction was mixed. Shit! I did it again!"
Jokes aside, Wilmore had a bone to pick with Morgan. "Are you saying that I called the president a 'n****r'?" Wilmore said, adding that Morgan was perhaps best known for his work as a "professional Beyoncé disliker."
He argued that Morgan's Daily Mail column, which John Legend predicted would happen, completely missed the point.
"I would never do that," Wilmore said. "I believe I said, 'Yo Barry, You did it, my n***a!' There's a difference. Piers, you did not properly conjugate the slur. Very important! 'N****r' is what white people use to denigrate, demean, and dehumanize black people. 'N***a' is a term of endearment some black people use between each other to take back its power."
Morgan responded to Wilmore's criticisms by sending out this tweet Tuesday morning:
For his part, Obama apparently didn't take any issue with Wilmore's use of the word:
