Man Seen In Racist, Pro-Donald Trump Viral Rant Says He Was Paid $200 To Participate [Video]
The Memphis resident who was filmed spewing racial slurs to a black driver in an alleged road rage incident now claims that the diatribe, which went viral, was financially, and perhaps politically, motivated.
In the NSFW video, which was posted online on or around November 6, Robert Thompson is seen approaching an African-American man inside of a car outside of the Wolfchase Galleria Mall. He then proceeds to berate the individual by repeatedly calling him the “n-word,” while also praising controversial, current President-elect, Donald Trump.
“Black lives don’t matter,” Thompson remarks at one point. “The problem is you sped up and drove around me, jumped ahead of me, and made me slam on my brakes at a light. That makes you a n****r.”
The full rant can be seen here. Please be advised, Inquisitr readers, that the following might be disturbing for most viewers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW2s3cr-nDE
After being sought out by ABC Memphis, who uncovered his address through a screen grab of his license plate in the video, Thompson stated to the news network that the person behind the cell phone camera, Brandon Levston, actually set the whole thing up as a way to amp up followers of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Thompson says that the lead-up to the “fake” confrontation went on as originally mentioned: while driving to the mall with his 7-year-old child, another driver cut him off and nearly caused an accident. As he exited his vehicle, Levston pulled up next to Thompson and mentioned that he witnessed what just took place. It was then that Levston allegedly relayed that the reason behind the near-miss of vehicles was probably due to the changing “political atmosphere.”
CAUGHT ON CAMERA:Man Goes on racially charged rant outside Wolfchase Mall: https://t.co/hCIHBJYy2t pic.twitter.com/0gl4eyntoH
— ABC24 Memphis (@ABC24Memphis) November 7, 2016
At this point, according to Thompson, Levston mentioned that he was a columnist for a local publication who wanted to perform a “social experiment” of sorts. He offered Thompson $200 to ad-lib a racially charged rant on camera that would be shared online, and promised to blur out his face. Levston also reputedly insisted that during the tirade, Thompson should use the “n-word” and denounce the Black Lives Matter movement, while exalting the name of Donald Trump.
After filming, Thompson asserted that the so-called columnist drove off without paying him, and he went on about his day until his family and friends called him to pass on the info about the video going viral. He would ultimately find Levston once again after ironically catching him in an interview with ABC Memphis regarding the rant.
Another example of that racism that doesn't exist in America https://t.co/FkNMtcrorp
— Vernon Sullivan (@agentattitude) November 8, 2016
“Instead of getting out of the car I just said, forget it, I’ll actually start recording,” Levston said during that aforementioned discussion on Monday. “I actually thought the guy would calm down. If I didn’t record and I got out and there would have been a physical altercation the only proof would have been my word against his.”
When confronted by ABC Memphis with Thompson’s remarks, Levston insisted that the moment wasn’t faked.
“That’s ignorant,” he explained on Tuesday. “[No one would ever] go on camera [for $200] and say those hurtful type of things, [which could] possibly ruin the rest of [their] life.”
“[Also], I’m nowhere near rich,” Levston continued, “so there’s no possible amount of money I could possibly scrape together to [actually] make it worthwhile for someone.”
Levston also claims that despite Thompson’s stating of such, he is not a columnist.
“It’s a piss poor attempt at damage control,” he added.
Because of the video, Thompson says that he and his wife have received a mass of threatening phone calls. He has since filed a police report against Levston citing intimidation. Levston, meanwhile, hopes that Thompson will own up to his actions and release a public apology.
[Featured Image by?ar?nas Babilas/iStock]
