Steve Harvey Slams Tavis Smiley And Cornel West, Calls Them Uncle Toms [Audio]

NEWS

» by C. Vernon Coleman II August 10, 2011, 11:47am

Steve Harvey Goes In On Smiley And West On Radio Show

Comedian and radio/game show host Steve Harvey has had enough of broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Princeton professor Cornell West's disdain for President Obama.

On his radio show earlier this week, the original King of Comedy had some harsh words for the two after responding to a caller's email about the duo's Poverty Bus Tour, where they plan to travel to and document the plight of people of all races across America.

"I was a huge fan of Cornel West," said Harvey. "[But] Tavis, I seen him coming a mile away. His anger started when he had a town hall meeting, President Obama couldn't come because of the campaign trail and he sent Mrs. Obama. He has held that grudge every since."

He continued,

"You don't have any real basis behind your dislike for this man...you keep masking it saying it's not about hate. Then what is it about? Poverty existed before January 20, 2008. Where was your damn bus then?"

The Family Feud host then clowned Smiley for his request to have a multi-day sit down discussion with the busy president.

"Who in the hell got 2-3 days for your a**,” Harvey joked. “I ain't got time to sit down with your monkey behind for two, three days, let alone the President of the United States. We got three wars going on, the economy crashing and we going to sit down with Tavis a** for three days?!"

Harvey went on to make a mockery of the duo's efforts by performing a skit where he proclaimed he was the president of UTLO.org - "Uncle Tom Look Out" - and that he spotted an "uncle tom" driving a bus.

"Make sure you don't get on the poverty bus," he added. "Because if you ain't po', when you ride the bus, you become po'."

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Comment Comments 15 Tags Tags: , , , , , ,
  • JUST ME

    AMEN

  • M

    Why can't a black man criticize the President without being called a hater or uncle tom? The reason there is so much pressure on the President is because he has the bully pulpit and he has the opportunity to do more for the disenfranchised than prior Presidents. Dudes like Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner need to lose the Yesman mentality.

  • Land Shark

    Obama is not the "Great Black Hope" but to Steve Harvey and many other black people Obama is next to God. Let's be real the unemployment rate for blacks is 18 - 25% and that's on the low side. Obama has not done anything to bring the jobs back to this country! Sure Steve can slam Tavis and Cornel West and says they are haters but there are people out there who see Obama for what he really is. Another Geroge W. Bush!

  • Sylvia Rush

    To the comments above, did you, Tavis or Cornell say jack when Bush was in office? Where was all this hate then, we knew back when the war started that it was a lie and Bush wanted to prove a point but no hate was said. The reason Bin Laden was killed while Bush was in office is because THEY were friends. President Obama wasnt his friend and the got him! President OBAMA is no the Great Black Hope and no one puts him up there with God. Give him a chance, just like WE gave all the other Presidents a chance!!! Your both are idiots!

  • Queen r

    Everyone has a right to their opinion and I happen to agree with Steve Harvey. Tavis Smiley has been on Obama's back since the day the man got in office, because he did not make his event.

    It is time for Tavis to grow up. Obama is the President of the United States, not Black America. Where were the comments that are being made now, when Bush was in office. I don't remember seeing Tavis going around the country during poverty tours then.

    If we was truly doing it for the people, I would not have a problem with what he is doing. But I feel he is just trying to draw attention to himself. There are some black leaders who feel Obama owes them something, or that he has to come to them to get things done. That is not the case. That is why Jessie Jackson had a problem with him.

    When are we going to stop being crabs in a barrell and instead lift each other up? Does Tavis want another Republican to run the white house?

  • Concerned

    The reason the unemployment rate is so high for blacks is because blacks go to whites for employment opportunities,especially in the private sector. Whites and Asians create jobs and stimulate the economy by starting their own business, moreover, blacks are a big part of Asians' income because of the goods and services they provide in black communities. Futhermore, white owned business in the private sector tend to promote and pay more to other whites because of patronage. So when blacks go looking for jobs at white owned establishments they are always at a disadvantage.

  • Eyes Open

    Blacks don't go to whies for jobs more than other ethnic groups,we go because they have the jobs available. And I'm sure tthat you'd patronize these businesses if they existed, am I correct?

  • ava leigh

    Cornell is no Uncle Tom , Just a Nutty Professor

  • WhiteGIRLS MOB

    OBAMA IS HALF-WHITE!!!....Don't be mad that he staying close and working for his mother's KIN FOLKS!

  • cobra cimmander

    All you have to do is look at the blacks in government .. Obama did not find one qualified black to appoint to anything .. the doj has one black at the top ..but none as deputy.

    He appointed republicans to top positions but no blacks the whites pick other whites and you know it but then so does Obama ..

    ... and IT IS UP TO YOU TO CONTINUE OUR PEOPLES STRUGGLE

  • yvonne

    It's clear that Tavis Smiley and Cornell West want to prove to their non-Black "fanbase" that they are "color-blind." Once they succeed in generating enough disdain for the President and ensure that he is not re-elected, I suppose their egos will finally feel at ease. Too bad they will have done such a disservice to ALL Americans in the meantime.

  • Terra

    President Obama's purpose is not to be the great black hope. He is the President of the United States. The gate keepers expected him to cater to black issues and those who criticize him for not doing so are clueless about survival in (white) America. There are still unspoken rules that apply even to President Obama. He is not sticking close to his mother's side. He is trying to govern the US. How discouraging it must feel for us as a black race to criticize him so harshly. The Republicans are trying to discourage us from voting for him again; oh they (the republicans) don't want your vote, never have...they just don't President Obama to have it. I agree with Steve Harvey, Cornell West and Travis Smiley have their own agenda...and it is not about us. Wake Up People!!!!!

  • Shawn

    Obama is not the President of Black America! He is the President of the United States! He is responsible for all, not just us! He can not push a "black agenda": even he wanted to, do you really think "the man" is going to allow that to happen! Like someone mentioned before, there are still unspoken rules that apply.
    AND why dont Tavis and Cornell Tom for office if they think they can do such a better job?
    Do NOT be fooled by theses two phonies!

  • Brenda Nunnery

    I am so dissapointed in tavis smiley & west:PRESIDENT OBAMA IS DOING THE BEST HE CAN WITH ALL THE REPUBLICANS RIDING HIS ***** AT EVERY TURN HE MAKES, COME ON GUYS!!!!!!

  • jayson

    Tavis Smiley and I had been talking for a year about how to dramatize the poverty and humanize our perception of poor people in America. C West

    They've only been discussing poverty for a year when this problem has been going on for decades. Steve Harvey's question " Where was the poverty bus tour during the Bush years" is a very good question. Also, why are these two behaving as if poverty began under Obama? Why are these two only blaming Obama and not the job killing policies dating back to Reagan? West and Smiley are failing to address the historical problem of poverty(which dates back to the reconstruction period read Du bois- The Souls of Black Folk), while remaining silent on how the u.s poverty rate was driven to this low point today. These two are reminders of the traveling snake oil salesmen found in earlier americana, where one guy presents the "healing to sick" theme on a soapbox to an audience while the other guy selling bottles of whatever on the side. The keyword is "selling" these two are surely selling books and themselves while professing to unmask the face on poverty....are they giving their profits from the book sells back to the impoverished people they interviewed?

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