Rob Schneider Under Fire for MLK Tweet Aimed at John Lewis

Rob Schneider has sparked criticism on Twitter after the actor tweeted a message to Rep. John Lewis about what Martin Luther King Jr. Day is all about.

Lewis, a civil-rights icon who walked with Martin Luther King Jr. at the march in Selma, Ala., told NBC News that he would not attend the upcoming inauguration, for the first time in his 30-year-long congressional career, because he didn’t “see Trump as a legitimate president.”

Trump fired back on Saturday, tweeting that Lewis “should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!”

On Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), Schneider tweeted: “Rep. Lewis. You are a great person. But Dr. King didn’t give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished & won Civil Rights.”

Twitter users criticized the actor for “whitesplaining” Martin Luther King Jr. Day to a man who walked with the man himself.

Rep. Lewis. You are a great person. But Dr. King didn’t give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished & won Civil Rights.

— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) January 16, 2017

See some of the reactions to his tweet below.

Rob Schneider: known for his hot takes on racial justice pic.twitter.com/rqdVFregHJ

— Eliza Skinner (@elizaskinner) January 16, 2017

You’d think black Americans would be honored to have @piersmorgan and @RobSchneider lecture them on Civil Rights. Instead, they’re mad!

— Nathan Rabin (@nathanrabin) January 16, 2017

Rob Schneider lecturing @repjohnlewis is the most embarrassing thing he’s ever done. Yes, this includes The Animal.

— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) January 16, 2017

@RobSchneider shouts to you for making The Hot Chick but maybe don’t explain the struggle for civil rights to people who were actually in it

— Richard Lawler (@rjcc) January 16, 2017

.@RobSchneider don’t whitesplain mlk to the man who literally sat at the table with mlk pic.twitter.com/oAg4VqlEb4

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 16, 2017