'Truly vile': Fox News host sparks fury with 'repulsive' joke about Black voters

Fox News host Jesse Watters sparked outrage on Thursday after he uttered a "trash" claim about the Voting Rights Act during a segment on the show he co-hosts, "The Five."

During the segments, Watters claimed that Black people don't have enough babies to justify their proportionate share of representation in Congress. He made the claim at a time when the Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that states can gerrymander their maps for partisan purposes, even if there is a racially discriminatory effect. Red states like Louisiana, Florida, and Tennessee have all passed new maps since the ruling that eliminated Democratic seats held by Black representatives and cracked majority Black voting districts.

"For 150 years, Blacks have only represented 10% to 15% of the American population," Watters said. "That's not that much. So, if they want to have more seats, they gotta get in between the sheets."

Watters' comments sparked backlash online.

"No one finds people’s rights being trampled on more hilarious than Jesse Watters. A truly vile person," Veterans for Responsible Leadership, a political advocacy group, posted on X.

"Everything about this is disgusting. Is this what passes as professionalism these days, @FoxNews, or have you decided to stop dipping your toes in the gutter and just jump all the way in? This is trash. Pure trash," Jennifer Erin Valent, an award-winning author, posted on X.

"He is truly repulsive," Martina Navratilova, a former professional tennis champion, posted on X.

"Republicans love democracy right up until democracy includes Black Americans," liberal political commentator Alex Cole posted on X.