Morgan Freeman says it's 'insulting' to be called 'African-American'

Morgan Freeman didn't hold back when he was asked for his opinion on Black History Month and the term 'African American' - needless to say, he's not a fan.

REUTERS / Sipa US

The 85-year-old has never been one to withhold his opinion and he certainly lived up to that reputation in a recent interview.

Talking to The Sunday Times, Freeman sounded off on his distaste for Black History Month.

Black History Month is commemorated each February in the US as a way to acknowledge the culture and historical achievements of black people.

However, Freeman finds the idea to be 'insulting'.

The Shawshank Redemption actor said: "Two things I can say publicly that I do not like: Black History Month is an insult. You're going to relegate my history to a month?"

Also in Freeman's firing line was the term 'African American', commonly used to describe black people who were born and raised in the United States of America.

Freeman said: "Also "African-American" is an insult. I don't subscribe to that title.

"Black people have had different titles all the way back to the n-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses 'African-American'.

"What does it really mean? Most black people in this part of the world are mongrels. And you say Africa as if it's a country when it's a continent, like Europe."

Alamy

This isn't the first time that Freeman has made his feelings clear on Black History Month, as he previously dismissed the concept in a 2005 interview with 60 Minutes.

At the time, he said: "Ridiculous. You're going to relegate my history to a month?"

When challenged by the interviewer, Mike Wallace, Freeman responded: "What do you do with yours? Which month is White History Month? Come on, tell me."

Wallace replied: "I'm Jewish."

In response, Freeman questioned whether he wanted a Jewish History Month, which the reporter immediately rejected.

Then Wallace asked: "How are we going to get rid of racism until ...?"

Freeman gave his solution: "Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man. And I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace.

"You know me as Morgan Freeman. You're not going to say, 'I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.' Hear what I'm saying?"

It's certainly an interesting subject and given that this remains topic over eighteen years since Freeman first aired his grievances, it will likely remain so for many years to come.