The wife of divisive comedian Bill Burr has responded to a critic on social media who claimed that their marriage is "a sign of racism".
The 52-year-old Mandalorian star pushed a number of viewers' buttons while presenting several awards at the Grammys Premiere Ceremony, which aired prior to the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (March 14).
Burr's typically brash and unapologetic comedy style appeared to rub a number of Twitter users the wrong way, especially after he made a joke about killing himself following a piano performance.
The backlash intensified further after Burr quipped about the inevitable outrage that would follow the broadcast of his routine, joking: "How many feminists are, like, going nuts? 'Why is this cis white male doing all this Latino stuff?'"
The Breaking Bad star topped it off by struggling to pronounce winner Natalia Lafourcade's name (something which he was audibly apologetic for).
In the wake of this, a number of Twitter users expressed their outrage over Burr's conduct, with many accusing him of unprofessional behavior, and even of racism due to his flubbing Lafourcade's name.
For example, one critic wrote: "The Grammys: we’re not racist, we respect diversity. Also the Grammys: *has Bill Burr disrespect several artists of color while presenting* The true colors are showing. [sic]"
However, fans of Burr took to Twitter to defend his routine, with one person uploading a picture of Burr and his African-American spouse, 42-year-old actress and director Nia Hill, who regularly appears on Burr's Monday Morning Podcast.
But politician Clayburn Griffin was left unconvinced, and responded to the lovely image of Nia and Bill by tweeting: "While I'm not suggesting Bill Burr is a racist, a white man having a non-white wife can sometimes be a sign of racism.
"So you shouldn't assume someone isn't racist just because they own a minority sex servant. They may very well have one because they're racist."
However, Hill herself saw this post, and had stern words for the Griffin, replying herself on Twitter: "B***h, shut the f*** up."
Griffin did later clarify that his comments were not directed specifically toward Bill and Nia, writing: "As I mentioned, I'm not referring to you or Bill. I don't know you two."
According to Today, Burr and Hill have been married since September 2013, and have two children together, a daughter, born in 2017, and a son, born in 2020.