Hillary Clinton under fire for participating in racially charged joke

The joke poked fun at a negative stereotype of black Americans

Hillary Clinton and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are under fire after making a joke at a fundraising dinner that played off a negative stereotype of black Americans.

Appearing at the annual Inner Circle charity dinner, the Democratic presidential front-runner appeared in a sketch with Mr de Blasio, along with Hamilton actor Leslie Odom Jr., where she thanked him for his admittedly late endorsement.

“Thanks for the endorsement, Bill.” Ms Clinton said to cheers. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry, Hillary. I was running on CP time,” Mr de Blasio responded to groans from the audience. One member can be heard in the video yelling, “No.”

“CP time” is shorthand for the phrase, “coloured people’s time,” which refers to the negative stereotype that black Americans are often running late.

Mr Odom, who is black, responded in character: “I don’t like jokes like that, Bill. That’s not appropriate.”

Ms Clinton clarified that “CP” actually stood for “cautious politician,” not the more commonly used racial stereotype.

The joke has been called “awkward,” “ill-advised,” and “a patently unfunny attempt at mimicking humour.”

Ms Clinton has been under scrutiny when it comes to race in recent weeks. Critics of the former Secretary of State accuse her of being a key advocate of the 1994 Crime Bill passed by President Bill Clinton that led to the mass incarceration of countless black people.

On Thursday, responding to such criticisms from Black Lives Matter activists, Mr Clinton appeared to lose his temper and accused the protesters of supporting murderers and drug dealers.

“You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter,” he said.