Days after the controversial end to the George Zimmerman trial, Trayvon Martin's close friend Rachel Jeantel visited the HuffPost Live studio on July 16 to discuss her relationship with the teenager whose death gripped the nation.
Jeantel's testimony about the night Martin died and her phone conversation with him during the struggle with Zimmerman made her the prosecution's star witness. HuffPost Live's Marc Lamont Hill asked Jeantel what she knew about Martin that was lost in the cacophony of media attention about him.
"He was a person. That was a human. He had heart. He had love," she said.
Jeantel said she resents the way Martin was characterized throughout the trial, which she said was based on an image and not the true personality she knew.
"You judging him out of a picture, saying he a thug," she said. "Have you ever spent a day with him? Do you know him? Stop judging."
The essence of Jeantel's relationship with Martin -- and whether it was romantic -- has been a topic of interest since Jeantel took the stand. When asked whether she was Martin's girlfriend, Jeantel evaded the inquiry.
"Can I lie?" she said through giggles. "Next question."
Watch the full interview with Rachel Jeantel on HuffPost Live HERE.
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