BET Co-Founder Backs Winsome Sears With $500K After Racist Sign Furor
He was “so appalled by that racist diatribe … that I choose to show the voters of Virginia how Black Brothers stand up to defend and support their Black Sisters.”
The fallout from the racist sign targeting Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears continues to reverberate, and now it’s shifting the political ground in the governor’s race.
Politico Playbook broke the news Friday morning:
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Betting on red: Robert Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has donated $500,000 to GOP Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign for governor after she was targeted by a racist sign at a recent campaign rally, according to her campaign.
Johnson made clear why he was stepping forward:
He was “so appalled by that racist diatribe … that I choose to show the voters of Virginia how Black Brothers stand up to defend and support their Black Sisters.”
The move is particularly striking because of Johnson’s political history. As Politico noted:
Johnson, who also founded RLJ Companies, was part of Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s fundraising network and backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 before shifting away from the party.
This dramatic show of support from the founder of Black Entertainment Television comes after a firestorm erupted last week when a white liberal activist was caught on camera holding a vile, racist sign at an Earle-Sears campaign event.
Legal Insurrection reported at the time:
When Sears showed up at a school board meeting to talk about transgender issues in education, a liberal white woman was holding a vile sign that read, “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain.”
It’s positively stunning that no one thought to tell this woman to get rid of the sign. Winsome Earle-Sears is black; her family came to America from Jamaica in the 1970s.
Earle-Sears immediately blasted the so-called “tolerant” left for its hypocrisy:
“I’m disgusted, but not surprised,” Earle-Sears said on X. “This is the ‘tolerant’ left Abigail Spanberger defends. I’m the sitting Lieutenant Governor, second in command in the former Capitol of the confederate states. I’m an immigrant, a Marine and above all, a human being. There is no place for this disgusting hatred in our Commonwealth. Anyone who doesn’t condemn this sign is complicit in approving it.”
Legal Insurrection later reported that the woman was alleged to be progressive activist Anita Martineau, who has long been involved with local Democrats, including as a volunteer with Spanberger’s campaign.
“The woman carrying the racist sign was ultimately identified by numerous sources as progressive activist Anita Martineau. According to several sources, she is a campaign volunteer for the Spanberger campaign.”
The Arlington County Democratic Party quickly tried to distance itself:
The Arlington Democrats issue the following statement:
1/4 pic.twitter.com/fKf4ATE5ar
— Arlington Democrats (@arlingtondems) August 22, 2025
But Arlington Republicans pushed back, releasing photographic evidence tying Martineau directly to the local party:
Arlington Democrats CLAIM Anita Martineau had no affiliation with them, but here she is as an official Election Greeter on Election Day 2023 — featured in both a Facebook post AND an Instagram reel: pic.twitter.com/WTyQHagH3l
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) August 24, 2025
That pushback underscored the growing backlash Democrats now face, and helped set the stage for Robert Johnson’s striking decision to throw his financial weight behind Winsome Earle-Sears.
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Comments
Scott Adams often points out the danger of “argument by analogy” – especially horribly false analogy. This is a splendid textbook example.
Foolishness can be very expensive.
Progressive activist pulls back the mask to scratch her nose and reveals that the so-called tolerant left is not actually tolerant.
Self awareness? Uhhh, what’s that?
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So sick of everything being racist in this world
When I was a supervisor in Plant Operations of a local hospital years ago, I told one of my guys (a black man) that is was his turn to change light bulbs in the parking deck. He said, “That’s racist,” and proceeded to say that he could get hit by vehicles. No matter that two other black men in the department had taken their turns, I had done it many times myself, and we used barricades around our cart to avoid being hit. So the rest of us, including the other two black men, had to do his job. Nobody, none of us, were amused.
He had his comeuppance when, years later, he propositioned a nurse who just happened to be the wife of the Chief of Surgery. We all enjoyed karma that day.
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If you were his supervisor and he didn’t do what he was told, why wasn’t he let go at that point?
Wait. I know. Union, right?
I suspect that it was both the union and the HR Department of the hospital.
Subotai Bahadur
Too bad it took years. Before they became The Protected Demographic one could just fire them and go on with the business at hand.
Used to love me some watermelon (btw I’m white) but since I was both single living alone and cheap hated to choose between buying a whole one – and not being able to finish it before it went bad – or getting a quarter cut of one for almost the same price.
So since bringing in food for others was not unusual at my then current workplace I compromised by buying the whole one and bringing it into work to share. Did that also for the occasional baked goods – like brownies or cupcakes – I’d make when I got a hankering and made my own.
Anyhew I lived (and worked) in a mostly white local – and when my workplace – which had been all white till then – hired a black guy as manager I felt obliged to stop bringing in a watermelon every week to avoid giving the wrong impression. Finally said to myself “F it” and explained my dilemma to the new boss – fortunately he laughed and said “bring it on – I love watermelon too”. Good boss.
Is there a person who doesn’t love watermelon?
Even my dog loves it.
Uh … can’t stand it unless you cut a whole in one and feed it a bottle of Everclear
“Robert Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has donated $500,000 to GOP Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign”
BLM…?
BLM…?
BLM…?
Surely you jest. BLM is the same place they are when a black cop shoots a black crook. Crickets. Cognitive dissonance, or something like that.
The d/prog can’t seem to let go of their desire to classify, discriminate, reward, punish and keep folks ‘in their place’ based on race. These, usually older d/prog, seem determined not to overcome and move beyond the casual racism of their youth.
Thankfully the idiots take off their own masks frequently. When they tell you who they are, you’d be foolish not to believe them.
I’d be more impressed if Johnson showed up at a Winsome rally and played Crossroads
Dhimmi-crats show their true, brazenly racist colors and KKK roots, whenever black, Hispanic or other “minority” conservatives speak their mind.
This “Anita Martineau” is a racist white woman of apparent French Canadian descent.
Once again, white women prove to be the biggest bigots in the bigoted Dhimmi-crat Party.
On average, black conservatives are some of the clearest thinkers on the planet. While their numbers are fortunately increasing, I wish it would go faster.
I have no clue why this should shock anyone, the Democrats were the party of segregation, separate water fountains and bathrooms. I hope more black people from Virginia are willing to stick up for their sister and send the Democrats a message.