Actor Morgan Freeman tells CNN's Piers Morgan that the Obama presidency made racism in this country worse — saying tea partiers are targeting Obama because of his skin color.

"The tea partiers who are controlling the Republican party...their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term," he said. "What underlines that? Screw the country, we're going to do whatever we can to get this black man out of here."

He added, "It is a racist thing."

The full interview will air on "Piers Morgan Tonight" at 9 p.m.

Watch the video below: