Al Sharpton: Rick Perry Needs To Explain 'Ni--erhead' Controversy (VIDEO)

Al Sharpton Tears Into Rick Perry Over N-Word Controversy

Al Sharpton lit into Rick Perry on his Monday show, criticizing the Texas governor for the still-swirling controversy surrounding an offensive rock placed outside a hunting camp that Perry leased for many years.

Sharpton noted that Perry has not commented publicly about the rock (which had the name "Ni--erhead" painted on it) since the Washington Post wrote a story about it on Sunday. Perry claimed that the name had been painted over when his parents originally leased the camp, but the paper found substantial evidence contradicting that claim.

Sharpton smelled a rat in Perry's silence. "Talking through spokesmen either means you can't explain yourself, or you may have something that's unexplainable that we haven't heard yet," he said. "What is it, Governor Perry? Inquiring minds want to know."

Sharpton then brought on MSNBC analyst Alex Wagner and the Post's Nia Malika Henderson. He continued to bait Perry about his tight-lipped reaction to the story.

"I just knew Rick Perry, the swinging cowboy who shoots at everything, was coming out guns blazing!" he said sarcastically. He also played clips of Perry's GOP rival Herman Cain criticizing Perry (though Cain later clarified his remarks.)

"If you've got everybody from Herman Cain to Al Sharpton calling you insensitive, that doesn't give you a lot of room," Sharpton said.

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