Toby Keith Targeted for 'Racist' Gesture

By Marc Schneider Posted Dec 16th 2009 07:21AM

An Asian American group says Toby Keith "embarrassed himself and his country" this week at a Nobel Peace Prize party in Norway when he stretched his eyes back while Will Smith rapped the word "yellow."

Besides embarrassing all sorts of people, a rep for the Asian American Justice Center tells TMZ that Keith "denigrated the Nobel Peace Prize and offended Asians and Asian Americans by using a crude, racist hand gesture." Watch Starting at :23 >>

Piling on is the Media Action Network for Asians, who believes Keith "is telling his Asian fans 'you don't matter, you're not on my radar.'"

The incident occured while Smith was rocking a rendition of 'Rapper's Delight,' and Keith began pantomiming along with the lyrics. His rep told TMZ on Tuesday that "No one at the concert thought Toby was out of line."

This wasn't the only bit of controversy surrounding Keith in Norway. Members of the Norwegian Parliament publicly criticized the country star over his uber-patriotic, let's-wallop-the-bad-guys song, 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).'

One lawmaker said that "If Keith really means what he says in his lyrics," then it probably wasn't a good decision to have him perform.

Toby defended his song. "If someone wants to say that one song out of 30 million albums sold and 27 No. 1's is inappropriate, then you can jump up and down about the one song."

Tags: Toby Keith, TobyKeith

Comments

(1296)

Wednesday 16 December

By lizanne thomas

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I think whites are sick and tired of people accusing them of being racist. We are tired of walking on egg shells. Get over it!

By amalasmagic

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People of color have suffered and "walked on eggshells" from the abuse of white people for centuries. The tide is turning ... its now your turn. Get use to it.

By Raf

"Wednesday 16 December
By makurraLowest

First of lets get it srtaight, when blacks rap they say N*GGA not N*igger, and when a white persons says it they say N*igger which is racist."

So then, let me see if I understand your dumb downed logic here:

If, as a White person, I were to call a Black guy N*GGA, rather than N*GGER on a Harlem Street, I would NOT have my ass kicked, correct?

Got it !!

By Miss Kitty

Toby Keith has proven over and over he is racist.

Did you see Beer 4 my horse...he belittles the Hispanic character over and over

sick puppy

By Don Medine

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Why are people so sensitive about the defining charateristics of their race? People should be proud of their race/ethnicity, not ashamed of it. Many from other ethnic groups often make fun of the caucasians. I don't see us making a big deal about every joke or gesture. What happened to peoples' sense of humor?

By kendall

By their own statement, Norway KNEW the lycics of
the song PRIOR to inviting him, and had to KNOW the
reason behind the song, so what was the objective for the invitation if they found it to be Offenensive?! Apparently, as the attacks on AMERICA and MURDER of thousands of innocent AMERICANS on 911 was not adddressed or mentioned in any way, one can only conclude by those actions, that the only OFFENSE here is in DEFENDING your Country with a song of support for it's People, with HORROR and OUTRAGE against the TERRORIST ATTACKS!

By kyril jarrett

I am red and it does not bother me.The hispanics at my school in arvada walk by the asians and go hachink as if sneezing and the asians and blacks laugh at it,but if a white did it all hades would break loose.

Thursday 17 December

By mizu

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This whole damned if you do, damned if you don't attitude is really just ignorant and lazy...so Kyril, you say that the asians and blacks at your school laugh when a hispanic says "hachink"?...at my old school, hispanic people got cut or shot behind the gas station for pullen stuff like that...and so did the blacks, whites, indians, asians, pacific islanders, etc. for that matter...there's no room for racisim...cultural jokes are okay if it's your best friend or you know that person well enough to use a generalistic term in jest...but when u do it to a random person or a race of people, well, that's just, and I'll say it again, ignorant and lazy...

By CMD

Who cares. The Nobel Peace Prize is a joke.

By jessi

OF COURSE,SOMEONE,IS OFFENDED,YOU EXPECT IT.SOMEONE KEEPS FORGETTING,TO GIVE SOME OF THESE BABIES THEIR BOTTLE.POOR WUTTLE BABIES....GEEZE SOME WILL WHINE,OVER ANYTHING,ANYMORE.BOO HOO,BOO HOO,BOO HOOO heheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

By Lighthearted

Jessi, you sound crazy? Were you also rocking back and forth as you typed such nonsense. Weirdie!

By Johnjfoote

Get over it people- blacks make fun of whites all the time and we don't get upset. People need to laugh at them selves again.

By ditty

how can you even understand what is being said or done...they just are both ...I dont know...goofy...

By Angiebaby

Why would they invite an artist to perform rap songs at the Nobel PEACE Prize party? But since they did, the song lyrics say something like 'hello to red, brown and yellow' friends. The song said and meant the same thing as Toby Keith mimed. Why are Asians upset with one, but not the other? It sounds like it was kind of stupid, but I don't think the guy was trying to stereotype and undermine the entire Asian population of the world. People - ALL peoples - are much too sensitive about things these days and cannot seem to differentiate between matters of stupidity, and matters which demand a collective response.

Of course, some might say this is why White people shouldn't rap....

By Evev

It wasn't anything to even pick out as deliberate, he could have been rubbing his eye, as quickly as it was done, no one said anything about Will Smith saying "yellow"
Give us a break, why try to pick things out to make people feel bad. And as far as the American song, WAY TO GO TOBY. We should all stand up for our country, and let the world know we are still angry about the attack.

By Redball

Budman: You are sooooooooooo right on !!
Pathetic, isn't it?

By bob

You are so right on Budman.

It is just like if you were a black president
and all the the lovers of limbaugh and
beck only said bad things about you.

Keep keeping it real Budman

By GoBacktoSchool.... Budman!

@ Budman,
"white men are waaaay to smart":

as per you, white men are way TOO smart and yet you have a problem with your grammar, so who is the dominant race again....????

By Yuck_Toby

Toby Keith is overrated anyway. To poke fun of Asians or another race is a slow down fall of his career.

By CrazyJ1

Where is Al Sharpton on this one!

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