In a new interview, comedian and former "Home Improvement" star Tim Allen is defending Paula Deen and speaking out about public sensitivity to "the N-word."
"I've had this argument on stage a million times," Allen shared with the Tampa Bay Times. "I do a movie with Martin Lawrence and pretty soon they're referring to me, 'hey my n----r's up.' So I'm the n----r' if I'm around you guys, but 7 feet away, if I said n----r, it's not right. It's very confusing to the European mind how that works."
So when Paula Deen [admits her language] they go after her," Allen continued. ""Now we've gone backwards in the world."
Allen's comments come weeks after the former Food Network star's career came crashing down in the wake of a scandal involving her usage of the racial slur.
Deen reportedly admitted to using the N-word and telling racist jokes in a videotaped deposition for a lawsuit filed against her by a former employee.
"It's just what they are- they're jokes," she said at the time. "Most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks...Gays or straights, black, redneck, you know, I just don't know-I just don't know what to say. I can't, myself, determine what offends another person."
Allen agrees, noting that the world needs to stop taking comedy so seriously.
"So this debate rages in the public, but when it goes out to the comedy world, we're not even allowed to say it, and I gotta refer to it as the N word, F word, B word...it gets all the way down to the line," he said. "It gets really intense; we're running backwards."
Allen's comments were reportedly not taken well by the public, and his spokesperson has released a statement saying it was not his intention to offend anyone.
