Former President Barack Obama recalled a time he “popped” a friend in the “face and broke his nose” after he allegedly called him a racial slur.
“When I was in school I had a friend, we played basketball together,” Obama explained during his new podcast “Renegades: Born in the USA” with Bruce Springsteen. The comments were noted by TMZ in a piece published Wednesday. (RELATED: Obama-Produced Film Receives Oscar Nomination For Netflix Documentary)
“And one time we got in a fight,” he added. “And he called me a coon. Now first of all, ain’t no coons in Hawaii, right?”
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“So, it’s one of those things were he might not even know what a coon was… what he knew was ‘I could hurt you by saying this,'” the former president continued. “And I remember, I popped him in the face and broke his nose. We were in the locker room.”
Obama said his response was “just reactive” and that he “popped him,” recalling the blood running down his friend’s face.
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Obama said his friend asked him afterwards, “Why did you do that?”
“Don’t you ever call me something like that,” Obama said was his reply.
Obama and Springsteen have reportedly been friends since 2008 when they met on the campaign trail. The pair recently announced the launch of their Spotify podcast. It is one of six parts, with the third episode coming out soon, per the outlet.