FLINT, MI -- Steve Harvey says he was joking when he made remarks on his radio show that earned him a social media backlash on the water crisis in Flint.

In a statement sent to NBC25-FOX66, Harvey said that he and a caller from Flint were "simply trash talking about sports" and that "any attempts to craft this into anything more serves no one."

The full statement reads:

"This morning callers and I were cracking jokes about the Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Golden State Warriors. I'm a huge Cavs fan.

The caller and I were talking trash about our teams and cities. "SIMPLY TRASH TALKING ABOUT SPORTS".

I made a joke directed at him, as he is from Flint, a city for which I have great affection and respect. So much so that I devoted a full hour on my daytime talk show to raising awareness for the Flint water crisis. I also pressed then candidate, Hilary Clinton, to offer solutions to what I called one of the great catastrophes of modern times.

The and the caller laughed as my joke was taken in the context it was offered."

Any attempts to craft this into anything more serves no one."

On his morning radio show the day after Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA championship, Harvey, who is a Cleveland fan, took a call from a man who said he was from Flint.

The man told Harvey that Cleveland didn't "deserve jack."

Harvey teased the man about not having clean water to shower in and before ending the call, told him to "Enjoy your nice brown glass of water."

I hate I missed his first comment but Steve Harvey wrong as hell for what he said. My flint people can't even talk shit about sports to outsiders without them catching feelings and disrespecting. That's how a lot of people really be feeling though. 😡😡😡 https://youtu.be/dchUn0ijXyI #steveharveymorningshow Posted by Marques Moore on Tuesday, June 13, 2017

A co-host on the show at that time then offered an apology on behalf of Harvey and the show.

The remarks came one year after Harvey had Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny, known as "Little Miss Flint" as a guest on his TV show, and a day prior to Attorney General Bill Shuette announcing manslaughter charges against five officials in the crisis.

Thursday afternoon, Mayor Karen Weaver issued a statement demanding a public apology from Harvey.

The Michigan National Action Network also demanded an apology from Harvey as well as his commitment to assisting the children of Flint.

The organization also called for a boycott of Harvey's shows and sponsors.

Harvey, who also hosts the Family Feud TV show, has not issued any statements about the incident on any of his social media accounts as of Thursday afternoon, June 15.