Louie Giglio, an Atlanta pastor at an evangelical megachurch, Passion City Church, apologized for using the phrase "white blessing" to explain "white privilege."
Giglio held a 70-minute discussion roundtable at his Passion City Church with Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and Chick-fil-A CEO, Dan Cathy.
The roundtable came subsequently after the death of Rayshard Brooks, who was fatally shot dead by two Atlanta police officers at a Wendy's parking lot.
"We understand the curse that was slavery, white people do," Giglio said. "And we say that was bad. But we miss the blessing of slavery, that it actually built up the framework for the world that white people live in."
Lecrae responded with a nod and "yes."
"A lot of people call this white privilege and when you say those two words, it just is like a fuse goes off for a lot of white people because they don't want somebody telling them to check their privilege," Giglio said.
"If the phrase is the trip-up, let's get over the phrase and let's get down to the heart," Giglio added, "and I think maybe, a great thing for me, is to call it 'white blessing' that I'm living in the blessing of the curse that happened generationally..."
Giglio shared an apology video on Twitter expressing his regret for his "horrible choice of words" during the discussion.
"I used the phrase 'white blessing' for which I'm deeply sorry--horrible choice of words. Does not reflect my heart at all. I don't--to be clear--believe that there's any blessing to slavery--to the contrary," Giglio shared.
Lecrae also shared a video on Twitter concerning the discussion saying he "was very uncomfortable" and "wasn't okay with it."
Giglio is under fire and receiving criticism for implying that slavery brought him his "white blessing."
