The Fox News host has been ridiculed by social media users after claiming that Obama's portrait contains 'inappropriate sexual innuendo' on his tweet.
- Feb 14, 2018
AceShowbiz - Everyone has his/her own way to interpret a piece of art, but Sean Hannity's claim about the recently unveiled official portrait of former president Barack Obama has left many people disgusted. The Fox News host suggested on his tweet that the portrait by Kehinde Wiley contained "inappropriate sexual innuendo."
"Obama's portrait - a stark contrast to predecessors with inappropriate sexual innuendo," he posted on Twitter, along with a link to a blog post by "Hannity Staff" which headline read, "PORTRAIT PERVERSION: Obama Portrait Features 'SECRET SPERM,' Artist Joked About 'Killing Whitey'."
The article read in part, "industry insiders claiming the artist secretly inserted his trademark technique - concealing images of sperm within his paintings." The "secret sperm" it referred to was a detail of the portrait just above Obama's left eyebrow which was actually a visible vein. The vein is indeed visible in a number of the former POTUS' pictures.
Of course, people were not impressed by Hannity's remark about the portrait. Journalist and blogger Chris Geidner tweeted in response, "Congrats, @seanhannity, you lose the internet today!" He also called Hannity's tweet "ridiculous" and "racist."
Hannity's tweet and the article have been since deleted. In a statement released by by Fox News, Hannity denied that he's the one who wrote the tweet. "Earlier today my web staff posted content that was not reviewed by me before publication. It does not reflect my voice and message and, therefore, I had it taken down," he said.
Obama and Michelle Obama's portraits were unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on Monday, February 12. "Pretty sharp," Obama said after he saw the life-size portrait.
Mrs. Obama's portrait was created by Baltimore artist Amy Sherald. Explaining why she selected Sherald, the former First Lady said she was "blown away by the boldness of her colors."