Tim Allen Slammed For Claiming He Should Be Able To Use The N-Word: ‘I Clearly Am Not A Racist’

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Buzz Lightyear is in hot water. Ahead of ‘Toy Story 4′ hitting theatres, Tim Allen was dragged over an old interview in which he said he had a right to say the ‘n-word’ in his stand-up.

“If I have no intent, if I show no intent, if I clearly am not a racist, then how can ‘n—er’ be bad coming out of my mouth?” Tim Allen, 65, reportedly told the Tampa Bay Times in 2013, according to The Guardian. Tim’s six-year-old comments were unearthed on June 12 after a new interview between him, Tom Hanks, 62, and media personality Xilla Valentine got awkward after Xilla brought up “black culture” and the card game Spades. Fans who read the remarks the Home Improvement star reportedly said in 2013 — the original post has been removed from the Tampa Bay Times’ website — were shocked, especially after finding out that Tim claimed he used the n-word routinely in his standup and “[the phrase] ‘the n-word’ is worse to me than ni—r.”

“While Tom Hanks talks Spades, Bid Whist, & Oakland, Tim Allen basically goes the route of ‘The only thing I like black is my coffee,’ ” W. Kamau Bell tweeted while sharing the Xilla interview. “Tim Allen is openly racist now, and I love seeing him squirm here,” user @crissles added. “Tom’s my guy. And Tim Allen can go f*ck himself for throwing a tantrum because he’s not allowed to use the n-word,” @Dyllyp added. While some people came to Tim’s defense, Twitter user @TwtTwtmeme shut them down. “Basic Google Search Can Tell you why Tim Allen is Racist, The Tweet that went viral it off was to show how uncomfortable it is to see someone talk about a culture he clearly hates. Stop Playing stupid.”

This whole drama started because Xilla Valentine, who was interviewing Tom and Tim for the upcoming Toy Story 4, quizzed Tom over his knowledge of black culture, mainly because of his hilarious role on the 2016 Saturday Night Live skit, “Black Jeopardy.” Xilla wanted to see if Tom and Tim had “a black card,” and he did so by asking them about the card game, Spades. While Tom seemed knowledgeable about what to do if he and his partner could each bid “four and a possible,” Tim did…not. “I’ve been working Vegas for thirty years. I don’t gamble. … I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any idea of what you guys just said.” When Tom went on playing Whist while living in Oakland, a befuddled Tim Allen asked, “Should I get a cup of coffee?”

To recap: Tim’s reaction to talk about “black culture” reminded some people about the comments he made in 2013. Those people, while citing this old interview, accused Tim of being a racist. Other people thought Tim was being called a racist because he didn’t know how to play a card game and came to his defense. After that, everyone started fighting online because that’s how 2019 works.

With Toy Story 4 opening on June 20, will viewers focus on what Tim said in 2013 or what they’re watching on the screen? In a Sept. 2018 appearance on The Talk, Tim indicated that this is going to be the most tear-jerking installment yet. “I gotta resist getting emotional. I don’t want to give it away, but this is an incredibly great story,” he said. “It is so emotional, it’s so funny, it’s so big, the idea they’ve come up with, I’m startled… I couldn’t even get through the last scene.”