Russell Simmons was criticized for posting a sketch on his All Def Jam Digital YouTube channel that was called “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” He quickly pulled the video and has apologized for posting it in the first place.
The tape featured an actress as Tubman having sex with a slaveowner to blackmail him. According to TheWrap, Simmons promoted the video with a tweet that called it the “funniest thing I've seen” and it even caused Tubman’s name to trend on Twitter for a time.
But many didn’t agree with Simmons and at the request of his friends at the NAACP, he decided to remove the video.
Simmons wrote a lengthy apology on Global Grind, writing that he completely understood the criticism. He said that while he has often supported controversial comedians, he agreed in hindsight that this joke was too much.
“In the whole history of Def Comedy Jam, I’ve never taken down a controversial comedian. When my buddies from the NAACP called and asked me to take down the Harriet Tubman video from the All Def Digital YouTube channel and apologize, I agreed,” Simmons write.
“I’m a very liberal person with thick skin. My first impression of the Harriet Tubman piece was that it was about what one of actors said in the video, that 162 years later, there’s still tremendous injustice,” Simmons explained. “And with Harriet Tubman outwitting the slave master? I thought it was politically correct. Silly me. I can now understand why so many people are upset. I have taken down the video. Lastly, I would never condone violence against women in any form, and for all of those I offended, I am sincerely sorry.”
The video included several offensive comments, including one where the white slaveholder tells Tubman “Get to work on that railroad, white n----,” referring to her Underground Railroad as if he suggested that it be built. In reality, the Underground Railroad was a secret network to free slaves.
Before Simmons got a chance to pull the video, there was a Change.org petition that racked up 700 signatures.
imagE: Wikimedia Commons
