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Bill O'Reilly slammed for calling Rep. Maxine Waters' hair a ‘James Brown wig,' Waters responds

Bill O'Reilly has apologized after making remarks about U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters' hair in which he called it a "James Brown wig." (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards)

Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly is being slammed by many on Twitter for comment he made about U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

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When asked to comment on Waters’ remarks about President Donald Trump’s policies, O’Reilly said, “I didn’t understand a word she said. I was looking at her James Brown wig.”

“I have to defend her on that,” “Fox & Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt said. "You can’t go after a woman’s looks. I think she’s very attractive.”

"I didn't say she wasn't attractive," O'Reilly said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "I love James Brown but it's the same hair James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, had."

O’Reilly added that Waters is a “sincere individual.”

Some responded to the remarks on Twitter.

Brown’s daughter, Yamma Brown Alexander, also shared her thoughts.

"That was a compliment Bill O'Reilly," she posted on Instagram. "Dad's hair was always laid!! But that's all you got from what Maxine Waters said? Sad!"

O’Reilly has since apologized in a statement, saying, “As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs. I said that again today on ‘Fox & Friends’ calling her ‘old school.’ Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair which was dumb. I apologize.”

Waters responded on "All in With Chris Hayes" on MSNBC on Tuesday night.

“I’m a strong black woman and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought of to be a friend of Bill O’Reilly or any body,” she said. “I’d like to say to women out there everywhere: Don’t allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people, to intimidate you or scare you. Be who you are, do what you do and let us get on with discussing the real issues of this county.”