Short version: Jeff Metcalf, father of the slain teen Austin Metcalf, used the phrase "watermelon felon" to describe Karmelo Anthony during a June 10, 2026 podcast interview, framing the line as a deliberate provocation to go viral. Snopes verified the clip and found no evidence it was AI-generated. The comment invokes a historically racist stereotype; Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years, and his legal team has appealed.
Fact Check: Jeff Metcalf Used Racial Stereotype On Podcast — What He Said, When, And Why It Matters
JinxedSip, accessed via Rumble
After the sentencing of Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison for the 2025 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, a clip from a June 10, 2026 episode of the "JinxedSip" podcast circulated online showing Austin’s father, Jeff Metcalf, using a racially charged phrase about Anthony. The remark — which invoked a long-standing racist stereotype — was framed by Metcalf during the interview as a deliberately provocative line intended to draw attention.
What Was Said And Where
During a roughly three-hour interview on the "JinxedSip" podcast (Episode 53) at timestamp 52:11, Jeff Metcalf said:
"Let me make something racist up so you all can go viral. I got a new name for Melo, okay, because he was such a little boy you're always trying to portray. How about 'watermelon felon,' how does that one strike you?"
The phrase "watermelon felon" draws on a historic racist trope associating Black people with watermelons — a stereotype documented by institutions such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Context And Additional Remarks
Metcalf prefaced the line by acknowledging its potential to inflame and later denied being racist on the same podcast (at about 49:01), saying, "I could care less about the color of your skin. We all bleed the same color." He also said he had forgiven Anthony (around 53:00): "So when people ask me, 'How can you forgive him?' If I didn't I would have wound up killing him and going to prison myself."
A screenshot shows an X post featuring a video of Jeff Metcalf calling Karmelo Anthony a
Snopes confirmed the clip is from the June 10, 2026 interview and found no evidence the video was generated by artificial intelligence. Because Metcalf did make the remark, social media posts attributing the phrase to him are accurate.
Case Background
The underlying criminal case drew national attention in part because of racial dynamics: Austin Metcalf was white and Karmelo Anthony is Black. Anthony was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years after a jury rejected a self-defense claim related to a stabbing that occurred at a high school track meet on April 2, 2025. Anthony’s legal team has filed an appeal, and his parents have publicly described the trial as unfair and say they intend to pursue further legal options.
Why This Matters
The phrase used by Jeff Metcalf revives a historically racist stereotype that many people find deeply offensive. Even if positioned as a provocation for viral attention, the remark contributed to public discussion about race and the case — topics that were already prominent during the trial and in post-sentencing coverage.
Sources
Primary sources and reporting include the June 10, 2026 episode of "JinxedSip" (Ep. 53), reporting from The Associated Press and CBS News, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Snopes’ fact-check, and Collin County, Texas, court records.
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