Racist sign prompts BET co-founder Robert Johnson to give Winsome Earle-Sears’ campaign $500K

Robert L. Johnson, the billionaire co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, has donated $500,000 to Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome-Sears’ gubernatorial campaign after she was targeted by a racist sign at a school board meeting.

Ms. Winsome-Sears’ Republican campaign said Mr. Johnson made the donation and condemned the “useful idiot” who displayed the sign at an Arlington County school board meeting.

“Madame Lieutenant Governor, I was so appalled by the racist diatribe displayed by a useful idiot at a recent press event that I choose to show all the voters of Virginia how Black Brothers stand up to defend and support Black Sisters when confronted with unadulterated racism. I have always been a good investor and that’s why I’m investing in you,” Mr. Johnson told Ms. Earle-Sears, according to her campaign.

A spokesperson for Mr. Johnson and his business, RLJ Cos., did not respond to a request for comment.

The sizable donation comes one week after Ms. Earle-Sears was confronted by a protester hoisting a sign that said: “Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then Blacks can’t share my water fountain.”

Photos of the protester and the sign, which hearkened to the days of segregation in the U.S., garnered millions of views on social media.

Ms. Earlie-Sears, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2022, called the sign “a shame” and said Democrats are “spewing hate.”

The woman holding the sign was a Democratic volunteer who had canvassed for Democratic candidates for years, according to WJLA-TV.

Previously, Mr. Johnson mostly donated to Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns. He has also donated to the campaigns of former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.

However, after President Trump was elected in 2016, Mr. Johnson urged Black Americans to give Mr. Trump a chance, saying he had known the president for years.

Ms. Earle-Sears is running for governor against former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat. Ms. Spanberger condemned the sign on X as “racist and abhorrent.”

“Many Virginians remember the segregated water fountains (and buses and schools and neighborhoods) of Virginia’s recent history,” Ms. Spanberger said. “And no matter the intended purpose or tone, and no matter how much one might find someone else’s beliefs objectionable, to threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable. Full stop.”

Polls have consistently shown Ms. Spanberger with a sizable lead over Ms. Earle-Sears. A recent poll by Roanoke College had Ms. Spanberger ahead 46% to 39%.