John Rich (photo: Frederick M. Brown)Plenty of us are sick of the heated political posts on social media this election year--and John Rich appears to be one of them. The 2011 Celebrity Apprentice winner took fellow Apprentice contender/American Idol alum Clay Aiken to task this week for what he considered to be offensive statements on Aiken's Twitter account.
Aiken posted the following comment on Tuesday evening while apparently taking in the Republican National Convention: "Playing drinking game with my brother now. We drink every time we see a black person on screen at the RNC convention. #soberasamormon."
Rich responded, "CLAY! You should be ashamed for racist comments like THAT! WOW." He noted, "I wonder how long it will be till @clayaiken takes that idiotic post down. Clay, you're better than that...I hope."
When Aiken did not respond, Rich fired off yet again: "And to finish it off, hashtags soberasamormon? I thought your charity was for inclusion, not EXCLUSION. What happened?"
Aiken, who competed on Apprentice this year for the National Inclusion Project (a charity that encourages an integrated environment for disabled and able-bodied children), did respond to that one. "My charity is. Why isn't your party?" he asked, adding a winking emoticon.
Rich continued to make the point that he'd had enough. "Between the hashtag 'negrospotting' and what I've read ever since, I've just had enough of this racist nonsense. It's sick. PLS STOP."
Aiken has been prominently featured in the news in recent years as a spokesperson and activist for gay rights. He told CBS's Face The Nation in May that he voted for Obama in 2008. Rich endorsed John McCain that same year, even writing an original anthem called "Raisin' McCain." He also performed at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and endorsed Republican gubenatorial candidate Zach Wamp in 2010.
Rich added his friend and fellow Muzikmafia member Cowboy Troy in his messages to Aiken. Troy, who is African American, did not have any public comment on the matter. Twitter users overall seemed more vocal in favor of Rich's plea to stop the political bashing than Aiken's apparent attempt at humor.
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