Sean Hannity blasted for calling Adam Toledo a ‘13-year-old man’

A guest on Hannity’s Fox News show had previously referred to Kyle Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, as a ‘little boy’

While the rest of the country was recoiling in horror at footage of a child being shot dead by police, Sean Hannity was busy calling that child a “13-year-old man”.

“We are awaiting the release this hour of Chicago Police bodycam footage that captured the fatal police shooting of a young 13-year-old man by the name of Adam Toledo,” the right-wing pundit said on his radio show on Thursday.

Chicago police released the video on Thursday, showing what appeared to be an unarmed Adam Toledo, 13, complying with an officer’s orders to put his hands up and then being shot.

Twitter quickly took notice of Mr Hannity’s odd choice of words.

“Mr. Hannity: Adam Toledo was not a 13-year old man.’ He was a child,” the actor and activist George Takei tweeted. “You make me ill.”

“To be fair, Sean Hannity IS a 59-year old child,” political commentator Keith Olbermann wrote.

Others pointed out that on Mr Hannity’s Fox News show last year, former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi referred to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who shot and killed two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as a “little boy”. Mr Rittenhouse was 17 at the time.

“This kid was out there trying to help people,” Bondi said then. “You’ve got a little boy out there trying to protect his community.”

Twitter users wondered aloud about the inconsistency.

Adam was “three years younger than Kyle Rittenhouse, who Pam Bondi called a little boy on Hannity’s show,” filmmaker Jeremy Newberger tweeted.

“This is the same ole racist playbook,” another user commented. “Black boys are always men. White men are always good old boys.”

Mr Rittenhouse is white, while Adam was Latino.

Right after uttering his “13-year-old man” phrase, Mr Hannity expressed concern not about the violence in the video, but potential violence at protests.

“There’s a lot of chatter today about possible unrest,” the host said. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but with Chicago’s track record, every weekend – you know, I guess you’d have to go with the odds, considering there are dozens and dozens of shootings and killings every weekend in Chicago – that this might not be particularly good.”

As of Friday morning, the Chicago protests in response to the video have been peaceful.

Fox News has not yet responded to The Independent’s request for comment.