Celebrities are angrily calling out President Donald Trump’s reported description of Haiti and nations in Africa as “shithole countries.”
Movie stars, comedians, musicians, chefs and late-night talk show hosts condemned Trump over his comments, which he reportedly made during an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers on Thursday.
According to The Washington Post, Trump asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” as he pushed against reinstating protections for immigrants from those areas. Trump then suggested the U.S. welcome more immigrants from countries like Norway.
The following day, Trump claimed on Twitter that he hadn’t used those specific words, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ― who was in the room at the time ― swiftly contradicted him, saying that the president had in fact “said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.”
Musician John Legend used Twitter to call Trump a “racist,” chef José Andrés said the people of Haiti deserved an apology and TV personality Jerry Springer indicated Trump was putting “our own citizens in danger”:
The article has been updated to include that Trump has denied having used that specific language, and Durbin’s assertion that he did.