Tim Allen accused of racism after old interview resurfaced

The Toy Story 4 The promotional tour may have hit a snag – and it all started with an interview about a card game.

The film's stars, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, sat down for a press interview with Global Grind entertainment reporter Xilla Valentine. Inspired by Hanks' participation in a popular Black Jeopardy! sketch for Saturday Night LiveValentine asked the actors to demonstrate their “black cards” by answering a question about the card game spades.

While Hanks came through brilliantly with his references to seeing guys playing whist in Oakland, California (“Tom Hanks always has an invite to the barbecue,” raved one commentator), Allen admitted he didn’t know much about spades and joked that he felt left out of the conversation.

Valentine later shared a longer interview with Hanks and a more participatory Allen and retweeted a note that the Last man standing Star “is not as grumpy as he comes across.”

But Allen – who is something of a working-class conservative hero because of his political views, even though he has made it clear he did not vote for Donald Trump – is being criticized for his behavior in the clip, which many say has racist implications.

Maybe it was all just a few jokes at Allen's expense. But the actor's name started circulating on Twitter on Wednesday when commentators cited an earlier interview in which the former The star of the DIYers argued for his right to say the N-word.

Read more: Review of the premiere of Toy Story

Author Scott Weinberg, who called Allen a “stupid fucking fanatic,” shared a screenshot from the comedian’s interview with the Tampa Bay TimesAlthough the newspaper no longer has the interview online, it was published in a Daily Mail Article shortly after its publication.

At the time, Allen insisted that the phrase “the N-word” was “worse” than the actual uncensored slur. He also defended celebrity chef Paula Deen for using the slur and expressed confusion as to why white people aren't allowed to say it.

“I've had this discussion on stage a million times. I'm doing a movie with Martin Lawrence and pretty soon they're saying to me, 'Hey, my n—– is awake,'” he said. “So I'm the n—–, if I'm near you but I'm six feet away and I say 'n—–,' that's not right.”

Allen's comments, which were already heavily criticized in 2013, have sparked another outcry.

“After reading tweets about Tim Allen, I understand why Trump is president,” said one commenter. “People aren't saying he's a racist because he can't play spades, they're saying he's a racist because he's said racist crap in the past. How stupid do you have to be to not understand that?”

In response, Allen's fans and conservative commentators have come to his defense, claiming the negative attention is exaggerated.

Allen also caused controversy when he compared life as a Republican in Hollywood to “Germany in the 1930s” in a 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel. His sitcom Last man standingwas subsequently canceled by ABC and then picked up by Fox.

By Erin Donnelly, Yahoo Celebrity