A lot of people are unhappy with Ellen DeGeneres after she posted a tweet that many have accused of being racist.
The tweeted image features herself on the back of Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt as he sprints toward the finish line during his historic 100-yard dash. It was captioned: ‘This is how I’m running my errands now.’
This is how I’m running errands from now on. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/gYPtG9T1ao
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 15, 2016
Social media users were quick to point out the potential racist undertones of the image:
@TheEllenShow @usainbolt So riding on his back like a mule, a horse as some form of property is fun to you...
Ok.
— 777-9311 (@MiQL) August 15, 2016
Honestly seeing Black folks defend that Ellen photo of Usain is depressing. "she was just saying he is fast" Oh yea? pic.twitter.com/rE1YGIPpIu
— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) August 16, 2016
Others have posted in defence of the post, arguing that this was never its intention:
@iyonah @daibyday @TheEllenShow What's wrong with it? She's saying he's fast. Nothing more. Nothing less
— Bryan Young (@BryanIsTheKing) August 16, 2016
If Usain was white, y'all wouldn't care. We all know Ellen isn't racist & didn't mean any harm by that. Stop it 🙄
— Zizzy (@xtraordinairee_) August 16, 2016
In the wake of the controversy, DeGeneres has since tweeted the following:
I am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) August 16, 2016
Usain Bolt has yet to comment, but he did retweet the post in approval.