John Legend upset racism still exists after a photographer called him a "Monkey"

John Legend has insisted he wasn't hurt when a photographer branded him a "monkey" but that he's upset racism still exists.

Though the star criticised the paparazzi photographer, he says he wasn't upset by the comments as he is "smarter and stronger". Speaking to Variety at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, he said:

"We were right next to each other and we looked at each other like, 'Did he really just say that?' And he really said it. He basically called me a monkey."Black folks have had to deal with being called monkeys for a long time and dehumanisation has always been a method of racism and subjugation of black people. That’s just part of American history and it’s part of the present, apparently.

"We saw it with the former president, Obama, whenever people wanted to discount him or discount his wife, they compared them to apes. And we’ve seen that frequently. You know, I’m not hurt by someone saying that to me because I’m smarter, I’m stronger. I look down on that person that would say something like that, but it’s a shame that still exists."