John Legend On Racist Paparazzo: “I Look Down On That Person”

John Legend had an amazing response to a recent racist remark allegedly made by an LAX paparazzo. Legend's wife, Chrissy Teigen, tweeted the remark. Essentially, the guy called Legend a monkey. Racist and creationist in one fell swoop, you have to at least admire the effort. Legend gave his response during a Variety Studio segment at Sundance, and it's everything we've come to expect from a man as collected as he is talented. "We were right next to each other and we looked at each other like, 'Did he really just say that?' And he really said it. He basically called me a monkey," Legend said. Legend nailed how the pap's racism fit into a long history of deplorable sentiments towards Black Americans. "Black folks have had to deal with being called monkeys for a long time and dehumanization has always been a method of racism and subjugation of black people," he said. "That’s just part of American history and it’s part of the present, apparently. We saw it with the former president, [Barack] Obama. Whenever people wanted to discount him or discount his wife, they compared them to apes. And we’ve seen that frequently." But Legend won't let this incident get him down. "I’m not hurt by someone saying that to me because I’m smarter, I’m stronger," he said. "I look down on that person that would say something like that, but it’s a shame that still exists." A perfect response. And, really, what is the pap doing insulting his meal ticket? Seriously, without the good will of celebrities these guys wouldn't be able to pay rent on a cardboard box. Watch Legend's comments below.