“That’s not true,” Tyrrell said. “He hasn’t been racist.”

Adichie's initial reaction was a smile that was equal parts amused and irritated. But after a beat, she interrupted Tyrrell's defense.

“I am sorry, but if you are a white man, you don’t get to define what racism is," she said. "You really don’t.”

Of course, Tyrrell tried to push back and launched into an explanation of the Marxist theory of false consciousness. He also complained, “I can’t even open my mouth here, because I am a white male.”

But Adichie wasn't having any of it. She said, “No, you don’t get to sit there and say that he hasn’t been racist when, objectively, he has."

Things had already gotten testy earlier in the interview, when Maitlis brought up the Ku Klux Klan’s support of Donald Trump. Tyrrell tried to downplay the organization’s role in Trump’s election, even making a strange reference to the Knights of Columbus.