Columnist, pundit Juan Williams says TV show host rejected him for not being 'black enough'

Panamanian-American journalist Juan Williams said a white TV show host dismissed him from discussing George Floyd's death and subsequent social unrest because Williams wasn't "black enough."

Williams alleges the host is on the PBS-affiliated show "This Is America & The World" and that he declined to have Williams talk about race-related issues because he was born in Panama, not America. Williams, a Democrat, said he received a note from the show host telling him about his decision.

"A white TV host recently dismissed me from appearing on his show to discuss race relations by telling me I didn’t qualify because I was born in Panama," Williams said in his opinion piece in The Hill. "He thinks I’m not Black enough. Seriously."

Williams does not include the language of the note or the name of the host.

Floyd died in May 2020 while in the custody of Minneapolis police, sparking protests about police brutality around the world.

A PBS spokesperson told Mediaite in March, when the incident occurred, that the show may be carried by a "small number of member stations (but) it is not offered by our national feed and is not produced by PBS."

Williams, a paid Fox News contributor, said being rejected to talk about the issue because of where he was born is a "new one."

Williams has written several books on race relations in the United States and has worked for a wide range of media outlets, from The Washington Post to NPR to Fox News.