Gerry Adams puts his foot in it after watching django unchained.
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It may have been swiftly deleted - but Gerry Adams' single tweet has made headlines around the world.
The Sinn Fein president sparked an uproar on Sunday night as he took to social media after watching the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained.
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The movie starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Dicaprio is set before the American Civil War.
It features themes of slavery, racism and violence making heavy use of the N-word throughout with it used more than 100 times.
Gerry Adams Django Unchained 'N-word' statement response in full
After watching the film, Mr Adams came under fire when he used the N-word in a tweet where he compared the struggle against slavery in the US to the plight of Irish nationalists.
It said: "Watching Django Unchained - A Ballymurphy N*****!"
Although it was quickly removed, it had already been screen grabbed and was being shared across the internet causing outrage and prompting accusations of racism.
Among the first news outlets to report on it immediately was the Washington Times.
Since then it has been featured on the world's media including Sky News, The Guardian, The Independent and The Telegraph.
Gerry Adams has also been trending on Twitter with thousands tweeting about the veteran politician.
A statement issued by Sinn Fein in the early hours of Monday morning said that the use of the word was "ironic" and denied racism.
Mr Adams said: “My tweets about the film Django have triggered a lot of interest.
"Anyone who has seen the film, as I did last evening, and who is familiar with the plight of nationalists in the north until recently, would know that my tweets about the film and the use of the N-word were ironic and not intended to cause any offence whatsoever.
“Attempts to suggest that I am a racist are without credibility. I am opposed to racism and have been all my life.
“The fact is that nationalists in the north, including those from Ballymurphy, were treated in much the same way as African Americans until we stood up for ourselves.
“If anyone is genuinely offended by my use of the N-word they misunderstand or misrepresent the context in which it was used. For this reason I deleted the tweets.”
A media facility was later organised on Monday morning where the Louth TD said he "acknowledged" the word was "inappropriate" and apologised for its use.
He said: "I acknowledge that my use of the N-word was inappropriate and I apologise for that. But I stand over the context and the historic parallels between what was happening in Ireland and the struggle of the people from Africa America.
"There is ample evidence in history of the parallels including the penal laws, the partition of Ireland and even in our own times like in North America, the discrimination over jobs and so on."
It's not the first time Mr Adams has evoked the language of the race debate in America. In March, he said his party would not "sit at the back of the bus for anyone" after he was denied entry to the White House for a St Patrick's celebration.
He was criticised for comparing himself to civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
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