PA Lieutenant Governor's Wife Called Racist Slur

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's wife said she was the victim of a racial slur this weekend while at her local grocery store. Gisele Fetterman posted a video of part of the incident on Twitter Sunday that showed a woman lowering her mask and saying the slur into Fetterman's partially opened car window.

"I love love love this country but we are so deeply divided, I ran to the local grocery store and was met by and verbally assaulted by this woman who repeatedly told me I do not belong here," Fetterman tweeted along with the video.

"The confrontation continued into the parking lot where I was able to finally capture it after the crying winded down," Fetterman posted. "This behavior and this hatred is taught. If you know her, if she is your neighbor or relative, please, please teach her love instead."

Fetterman told The Washington Post that the encounter with the woman began while she was in the Aldi grocery store in Homestead near her home in Braddock.

“She said, ‘There’s that n-word that Fetterman married. You don’t belong here. No one wants you here. You don’t belong here,’ ” Fetterman, who was born in Brazil, told the Post.

Fetterman received support from many elected officials, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey.

Gov. Tom Wolf also condemned the racism and hate speech in a statement released on Monday.

“The ethnic intimidation and racist speech spewed at the Second Lady of Pennsylvania is shameful and unacceptable," he said. "Racism and hate speech are always unacceptable, and unworthy of Pennsylvanians.

"No Pennsylvanian should ever be made to feel unwelcome in our commonwealth because of their race or ethnicity. Gisele Fetterman spends much of her time devoted to making our state and world a better place and she — and every Pennsylvanian — deserves our respect, not the hatred too often displayed by people who seek only to further divide this country at a time when unity is so desperately needed."