Olympic track athlete and occasional bobsledder Lolo Jones took to Twitter yesterday to poke fun at Rachel Jeantel, the 19-year-old friend of Trayvon Martin’s who was on the phone with him shortly before his fatal encounter with George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman is on trial for the February 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Jeantel took the stand testifying for the second day in a row on Thursday. Her appearance, speech and demeanor on the stand have drawn criticism from social media users.
LIVE BLOG: George Zimmerman trial in the Trayvon Martin case
Jones, who has over 358,000 followers, tweeted about Jeantel, comparing her to Madea, Tyler Perry’s most infamously uncouth character.
https://twitter.com/lolojones/status/350355229721632769
Despite critics like Jones, there are Jeantel supporters who have come to the teen’s defense.
Jones received a tremendous backlash from her fellow Twitter users and followers for her remark, with some telling her to “stop” and “grow up.”
Here are a few responses:
I have tried to defend lolo jones on numerous occasion but Im not doing it anymoe
— Mr. Misophonia (@_Harvi3_) June 28, 2013
@LoLoJones are you ok? Looking at your tweet about Rachel Jeantel you must have lost your mind. I hope that made feel good about yourself.
— Kaaaaay (@KarterTheWriter) June 28, 2013
https://twitter.com/Awkward_Duck/status/350363237793021952
@lolojones you suck at track but you are AWESOME at always saying the wrong thing.
— 🐧✨America Is Musty✨🐧 (@DragonflyJonez) June 27, 2013
https://twitter.com/Capt_GusMcCrae/status/350358379706843138
Jones made headlines recently because of a Vine video she posted, mocking the paycheck she received for training with the U.S. bobsled team.
Do you think Jones’ comment was a harmless joke or truly offensive?
Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.