MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry remembered Martin Luther King, Jr. during a commemorative speech at Cornell the best way she knew how, saying she hoped Trayvon Martin “whooped the shit out of George Zimmerman” during their 2012 encounter that ended in the African-American teenager’s death.

On Monday, Harris-Perry spoke at the university’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Lecture, where she touched on topics like democracy — which she labeled “hot shit” — and called Dr. King “the one great voice, like Beyoncé.”



But it was her comments regarding the night of Martin’s death that caused Cornell’s conservative campus newspaper, The Cornell Review, to post video of her remarks online. “I hope he tried to stay alive,” she said of Trayvon. “I hope he knew that he lived a state with a ’stand your ground’ law.”

“And I hope he whooped the shit out of George Zimmerman,” she added, prompting instant applause from the student audience.

Harris-Perry’s remark came one day before the Justice Department declined to pursue civil rights charges against Zimmerman, citing insufficient evidence. Zimmerman, who argued that he was being beaten by Martin and acted in self-defense when he pulled the trigger, was found not guilty of murder by a Florida jury in 2013.