• People Are Freaking Out Over a Photo of Supersized Kanye West

    Black Twitter lost its collective mind yesterday when photos of a plus-size Kanye West surfaced, forcing what could either be called “fat-shaming” or a savage roasting session, depending on which side of the aisle you sit. On Friday, paparazzi photographers spotted Yeezy out sporting a new husky look. As soon as the pics hit social…

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  • Donald Trump Rescinds Steph Curry’s Invitation to White House

    Donald J. Trump furthered his argument for pettiest president of all time Saturday morning when he presumably woke up, ate some leftover KFC for breakfast, watched cartoons for a few minutes and, as he sat under the complex machinery that applies his wig and spray tan, decided that he didn’t want Stephen Curry at the…

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  • Trump Curses NFL’s Black Protesters, Suggests They Should Be Fired

    “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired.” That’s not a quote from some random, drunk, half-wit blowhard. The president of the United States of America said that. OK, technically, Donald Trump isn’t known for his outstanding IQ or using carefully measured language, but he doesn’t drink, so when…

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  • Ga. Is Going to Execute a Black Man Convicted by a Racist Juror 

    On Tuesday, Sept. 26, if the U.S. Supreme Court does not intercede, the state of Georgia will execute Keith Tharpe. Keith Tharpe is probably guilty. In Georgia, an impartial jury must unanimously vote for capital punishment in order for a person to receive the death penalty. In 1991, when Tharpe was convicted, every juror voted…

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  • ‘Whites Only’ Stickers Attributed to #BlackLivesMatter, but (Spoiler Alert) White Boys Did It

    As tension and protests sweep through St. Louis in the aftermath of the Jason Stockley verdict, restaurant owners in the city were infuriated when “Whites Only” stickers with the hashtag #BLM began surfacing at local eateries. They understood the anger and protests but wondered why anyone would fan the flames with such an incendiary act.…

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  • Texas Politician Kinda Apologizes After He’s Caught on Tape Using the N-Word

    A Texas politician has apologized after social media users shared audio clips of him using the n-word in a racist rant. But his half-assed mea culpa was not to the people about whom he said the words. He also didn’t say he was sorry for using the words. He apologized for people finding out about…

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  • An Annotated Translation of the Greatest Clapback of All Time

    The text of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s response to Donald Trump’s United Nations speech will go down as one of the pettiest incidents in the annals of international shade throwing. To highlight the cataclysmic clapback of this piece of art, we assembled a group of world-renowned pettyologists from Atlanta; Compton, Calif.; and Brooklyn,…

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  • What to Say When Your White Friend Wants to Use the N-Word

    On Thursday, the British blowhard with a face that looks like a half-filled Hefty bag, Piers Morgan, wrote a piece explaining why black people shouldn’t be mad when white people use the word “nigga.” It all started because of a video of a group of white sorority girls singing the song “Gold Digger” at some…

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  • The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: A Teachable Moment

    Welcome to the last Clapback Mailbag. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing our reader correspondence with you, but since we will all most definitely be annihilated in a nuclear holocaust this weekend, let’s take these last few moments to do what makes us feel good: Being petty. From: Sarah S.To: Michael HarriotSubject: Shame on you! I…

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  • Does Donald Trump Struggle With Reading? An Investigation

    People across social media made fun of Donald Trump on Wednesday when he referred to the African country of Namibia as “Nambia.” Everyone laughed but me. Even though I am well-known for the sensitivity and politically correct tactfulness that I display on a regular basis (hey, don’t laugh!), there is another reason that I didn’t…

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