Lamenting the spiteful spirit among the black community, the Charlie Telphy depicter on the ABC sitcom says the problem is bigger than his 'bell bottoms' and that we have to 'break the cycle.'

• Feb 27, 2020

AceShowbiz - Deon Cole has responded to the backlash that sparked after he wore Gucci bell bottoms at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards. The SAG Award-nominated actor took to his Instagram account to reveal that he received so much hate for his choice of the non-traditional outfit for the Saturday, February 22 event.

In a video posted on Tuesday, February, the 48-year-old said, "I've always had the balls to wear what I wanted to wear and with that comes opinions." Shocked by the reaction, he shared, "The part that I'm tripping over about this is the hate. The hate that I have been receiving because I wore a bell bottom velour velvet suit has been unreal. I've been told-I've been called a 'b***h a** n***a.' "

Some people questioned his sexuality and hurled homophobic comments on his Instagram post, while there's also a few who went as far as making death threats against him. Deon, who explained that the outfit was tribute to his love of the disco-era, said that some people denounced his comedic talent because of the flared pants.

But Deon's confidence is apparently bigger than his fear of the threats. Hitting back at the haters, he wrote in the caption of the post comparing his look at the NAACP Images Awards to Mike Myers' character in "Austin Powers" movies. "Lmfao!!!! Now I hate y'all for making these. Lolololol!!! y'all can kiss my a**!!! JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA," he laughed off his meme.

The actor, who is known for portraying Charlie Telphy on "Black-ish" and its spin-off "Grown-ish", later compared people's reaction to his bell bottoms to the reaction of Harry Styles' fans to his similar outfit. "This is Harry styles from the group one direction wearing the SAME suit, without no hatred or threats from his people," he wrote.

Lamenting the spiteful spirit among the black community, he added, "Hate in your own community is real! Whoever put self hate in black people? WON!!! We have to find out the origin of this problem and BREAK THE CYCLE! We can't keep sweeping this problem under the rug. This is bigger than my bell bottoms."

Deon has received support from fellow celebrities after posting the video. Gabrielle Union wrote, "I'm baffled and hate you got threats but keep on doing you and what makes YOU happy @deoncole because your joy will allow you to keep bringing joy to others. Respect." Don Lemon chimed in, "Deon, You give me joy too brother. You are the real f***ing deal. Keep spitting truth."