Lil Jon Confirms That Donald Trump Called Him “Uncle Tom” On The Apprentice

Lil Jon has confirmed that he had to ask Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to stop referring to him as "Uncle Tom" during filming of the 13th season of The Apprentice in 2013. Reports of Trump casually using the racially loaded term surfaced earlier this week on The Daily Beast. Former Apprentice staffers detailed how then-host Trump repeatedly called Lil Jon "Uncle Tom," despite multiple producers urging him to stop doing so. The incidents occurred during an episode of the reality show in which Lil Jon and his fellow contestants were tasked with mounting competing displays to promote hair-care products. Lil Jon donned an Uncle Sam ensemble in an effort to help advertise his team's product. “'Look, he’s Uncle Tom!'" one longtime Apprentice staffer recalled Trump blurting out at least twice," reported The Daily Beast, noting that the staffer in question said Trump was "utterly tone-deaf to the racially charged history of the term, which is used to deride a Black man deemed to be subservient to white people." Multiple producers reportedly attempted, in vain, to get Trump to stop using the inflammatory term. An executive producer went so far as to call Trump directly to implore him not to say the phrase, but, according to The Daily Beast, Trump brushed off the admonishment with a simple offhand dismissal of, "No, that’s a saying, it’s Uncle Tom." When The Daily Beast emailed the Trump campaign for comment, it received a quick response from campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, stating, “This is simply untrue." But after the story broke on Friday, Lil Jon released a statement on Twitter confirming that Trump had indeed used the term. "When this 'Uncle Tom' incident happened on Celebrity Apprentice in the boardroom several of my castmates and I addressed Mr. Trump immediately when we heard the comment," wrote the rapper. "I can't say if he knew what he was actually saying or not, but he did stop using that term once we explained it's [sic] offensiveness." "I also want to be clear that I don't agree with many of the statements Mr. Trump has said during his current run for president," Lil Jon added in closing.