Photo: Getty Images
President Joe Biden made a major gaffe when referring to a hip-hop legend during a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus over the weekend.
On Saturday (September 23), the CBC held its annual awards dinner in Washington D.C., honoring LL Cool J and MC Lyte with this year's Phoenix Award for their musical contributions, per the New York Post.
Biden said LL Cool J and MC Lyte were "two great artists of our time who represent the groundbreaking legacy of hip-hop in America." However, the president slipped up when saying the "Around the Way Girl" artist's name.
"LL Jay Cool J, uhhh…” Biden said during his speech as the crowd erupted in laughter.
Biden went on to comment on the rapper's physique but again tripped over his words and called LL Cool J a "boy."
"By the way, that boy's got," Biden said before rephrasing his sentence. "That man's got biceps bigger than my thighs."
Video of the flub went viral, with some social media users pointing out the derogatory nature of calling a Black man a "boy."
"Never, and I do mean NEVER, call a black man 'boy' in no circumstances. It’s rooted in white supremacy and one of the most disrespectful and hateful words any white man can say to a black man. SMH," one person commented on Instagram.
"The 1950s southern white man started to show..." another social media user said.
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