Steve Harvey Defends His Wife Calling Herself ‘Re***ded’ By Using Term Himself

Steve Harvey is defending his wife’s use of the term “re***ded” by using the controversial word himself. As reported by Entertainment Tonight Canada, Steve’s wife Marjorie Harvey recently faced some intense backlash across social media after she referred to herself as being “re***ded” in an Instagram video while joking around with the TV personality earlier this week.

She said in the video that showed her cooking in the kitchen as Steve watched on, “I’m sitting here arguing with my husband, ’cause clearly he thinks I’m re***ded [and] I don’t know how to cut a beet.”

After a number of social media users slammed her for using the controversial term in the clip uploaded to her account, Harvey then hit back at the haters in a comment posted to the social media site, defending Marjorie and her use of the much-debated word.

ET Canada posted a screenshot of Steve’s controversial response, which showed him hit back with a lengthy defense.

Harvey wrote online, “What you trippin’ ’bout cause my wife said the word re***ded… it’s a word ain’t it? and she ain’t talking ’bout nobody but herself to me…”

“What she was doing was just that and she ain’t saying it bout nobodies baby,” Steve then continued of his wife. “I don’t ever comment but [d***] is you just looking for something to be pissed off about cause we ain’t… and I wrote it re***ded. NAH!”

Marjorie then responded to her husband’s lengthy comment with another message posted to Instagram, where she claimed that she tried to prevent him from hitting back in the comments section.

After seeing Steve go off on the haters, Marjorie then replied with several crying laughing emojis and wrote that she “tried to stop him… but y’all know he crazy and don’t play about me.”

Per People, many Instagram users slammed Marjorie for her use of the derogatory term and urged her not to use the word in any capacity.

One Instagram user wrote after hearing Harvey speak in the original video, “As somebody who works with adults with Developmental Disorders and a loving sister of a beautiful woman with Down Syndrome, I can assure you that when the word retard is used in a derogatory manner it is EXTREMELY offensive.”

They then added that they felt “people need to educate themselves” when it came to using the term in any capacity.

People also reported this week that a slew of social media users then hit back at Steve for defending his wife’s use of the word, with one even claiming that Harvey was defending “hate speech” by justifying Marjorie’s language in the recent video.

Harvey hasn’t yet publicly responded to those who also put him on blast for his response.

The controversial term has seen much debate on social media, with many calling for use of “re***ded” to be banned due to it demeaning those with disabilities.

As reported by ABC Australia two months before the Harvey’s came under fire, in February, several campaigns have been launched to prevent people from using the word, including a recent movement by the WA government which aimed to educate the public on the effect the term can have by claiming that it was “insulting” as well as “disrespectful.”

Disabilities Minister Stephen Dawson said amid the campaign that they hoped to educate people about the derogatory connotations the term has towards people with disabilities. “The R word is insulting and disrespectful — not just to people with disability but also to their families, friends and carers,” he said.

He then added at the time, “It’s never OK to use the R word — not in humor or frustration.”