Neil deGrasse Tyson Unpacks Racist Monkey Comparisons to Black People

*Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson issued a response to racists who compare Black people to monkeys, and he used former president Barack Obama as an example.

Speaking to VladTV, Tyson explained why white people look more like monkeys than Black people.

“I know you did an interview recently [about] the racist things people have said about Black people and monkeys and so forth,” Vlad said. “But you said when you scientifically look at white people [you said] monkeys are hairy, and white people are the hairiest people…”

“On Earth,” Tyson said, completing the host’s sentence. 

When Vlad, who is white, admits, “I am really hairy,” Tyson said he does not “shave at all,” before pointing out that white people tend to have neck and chest hair.

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Vlad also noted that white people and monkeys have big ears and thin lips. 

“I look more like a monkey than anyone else,” said Vlad.

According to Tyson, 19th-century anthropology was probably “the most racist period in the most racist branch of science there ever was.”

“What if Black anthropologists had set the tone back in the 1800s? What comparisons would they have come up with? They’d have to put themselves at the top, and now find all the similarities between white people and chimpanzees.”

Tyson then channeled Obana into the conversation.

“People say, ‘Well how about Obama? First Black President and he’s got big ears.’ He’s exactly half-white,” he said. “No doubt those big ears come from his mama! The point is, look how easy it is to be racist. And take a look at a chimpanzee’s lips. They’re razor thin, and we’ve got some very famous large-lipped black people … so they overlooked so much.”

Check out Tyson’s full commentary via the interview below.

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