Prince William made comments this week about the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice called him out for them.

William’s Controversial Remarks

William made the controversial remarks while visiting the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London with his wife Kate Middleton on Wednesday. 

“Everyone is horrified by what they are seeing,” William said during the visit. “The news every day, it’s almost unfathomable to actually witness it, to see it. For our generation, it’s very alien to see this in Europe. We’re all right behind you.”

Newsweek reported that The Press Association initially reported that William had said that Europeans were more used to seeing atrocities committed in places like Asia and Africa than on their own continent.

While the video shows that William did not say those exact words, some social media users feel that is exactly what he was suggesting.

Related: Queen Elizabeth ‘Leaning On’ Prince William After He Played Major Role In Her Stripping Prince Andrew Of Military Titles

Bernice King Blasts William 

Bernice King, the chief executive of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, took to Twitter to slam William after seeing the initial reports linking his remarks to colonialism.

“Horrific comment,” she wrote on Twitter. “European people ran roughshod over the continent of Africa, pillaging communities, raping women, enslaving human beings, colonizing for profit and power, stealing resources, causing generational devastation. And European nations continue to harm Africa.”

After seeing the actual video footage, King did not completely back down from her past tweet. 

“I believe that we have a great deal of work to do globally to eradicate what my father called the Triple Evils of Militarism, Racism and Poverty,” she wrote. “I believe that language matters in that work. And that it is harmful for a global figure to express war as ‘alien to Europe.'”

https://twitter.com/BerniceKing/status/1501935919544225814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1501935919544225814%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fprince-william-slammed-martin-luther-king-daughter-bernice-horrific-ukraine-comment-colonialism-1686627

Related: Prince William Gives Harry The Cold Shoulder – Hasn’t Returned His Calls In Months

William Hit With More Backlash

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, who regularly acts as a commentator on racial issues in the United Kingdom, told reporters that the comments William made were still offensive, even if he didn’t specifically mention Asia and Africa.

“William says it’s alien in Europe,” she said. “This is on the back of two weeks of western media also saying it’s alien in Europe, also saying Western countries are civilized. I’m sorry, if it’s alien in Europe, where is he referring to it as being normal?”

Other internet users agreed that William’s comments were offensive on their own: 

https://twitter.com/WabziS/status/1501687598267658240

The British Royal family was accused of racism last year by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in their interview with Oprah. It remains to be seen whether William will respond to this controversy at all, or continue to remain tight-lipped about it until it blows over. 

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