Steve Harvey's Advice to 'Hillbillies' Defending Confederate Statues After Charlottesville: 'Get Your Ass a Museum'

The "Family Feud" and daytime talk show host, who recently relocated to Los Angeles to launch new show "Steve," told The Hollywood Reporter in a new, wide-ranging interview that he's fine with people "loving" the symbols of the fallen Confederacy, as long as his taxes don't have to pay for maintaining them, or he's not forced to see them in public.

"Look, I'm OK with you loving the Confederate flag. I'm OK with you loving them statues. Maybe people had great grandfathers who fought in the Civil War and they want to continue to honor them. Well, that's great," he said. "But see, I pay taxes, and I don't want to pay taxes to raise the flag every morning and then cut the grass around it and wipe the pigeon poop off the statue."

"So take all them statues and that flag and put it in your own museum," the comedian continued. "Then all the hillbillies can go there and cry in front of the flag at the feet of General Lee and howl and just have a great time. But it can't be at the park. You can't have the Confederate flag waving when I'm outside trying to have a picnic."

"And you handle it that way because I'm OK with people preserving history, for whatever their reason," he said. "It may not be the right reason for me, but if it's right for them, cool. But put it in a museum. Black people got museums. Jewish people got a museum. Get your ass a museum."

The subject came up when Harvey was asked about how he intends to make his new syndicated show more political, as well as bringing "late night to daytime." Expect more celebrity guests on "Steve," as well as edgier jokes and subjects.

Harvey also elaborated on a previous statement he made, that Hollywood is "more racist than America."

"'Cause they don't get it," he explained. "And it's not that they're racist. It's that they, the people who greenlight shows, sit in an office in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Studio City, and they make decisions about America and none of them live there. And they've got to put everything in a category. 'Blacks would like this. This is a black show.' I think 'Black-ish' is the first black show that hasn't had to put a white character on it. It's amazing how they think out here. And America's not that way at all."

America does love outrage, though, and there was a lot of it after Harvey met with President Donald Trump for 20 minutes after his election.

"It was so vicious that it really threw me. I was being called names that I've never been called: Uncle Tom. A coon. A sellout. Because I went to see this man?!" Harvey exclaimed, then explained the meeting was actually President Barack Obama's idea.

"My business partner got a call from the Obama transition team, who said that the Trump transition team would like to set up a meeting," Harvey said. "The Obama team said they thought it would be a good idea because the president is encouraging dialogue. And I have a relationship with Obama. We're friends. So I say, 'OK, cool.'"

So what did they talk about?

"We talked about golf for 20 minutes. And then I told him, 'Mr. President, I'm going to be honest with you, I didn't vote for you. I campaigned very hard for Hillary Clinton.' Haven't talked to him since."