Both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio addressed criticism of a controversial skit featuring the two politicians joking about "C.P. Time." 

"Well, look, it was Mayor de Blasio’s skit," Clinton said in a Cosmopolitan interview published yesterday (April 12). "He has addressed it, and I will really defer to him because it is something that he’s already talked about."

The mayor defended the bit during an appearance on CNN Monday night (April 11), saying that the joke was meant to lampoon stereotypes. "Every actor involved including Hillary Clinton and Leslie Odom Jr. thought it was a joke on a different convention," de Blasio said. 

"In an evening of satire, the only person this was meant to mock was the mayor himself, period. Certainly no one intended to offend anyone," read a statement from de Blasio’s office that was quoted in a NBC News story.

As we reported on Monday, the video comes from Clinton and de Blasio’s performance at New York City’s Inner Circle Dinner on Saturday (April 9). The annual dinner, organized by a group of New York-based journalists, sends up contemporary issues and events while offering both journalists and politicians a chance to perform. As part of this year’s "Shamilton" theme, Clinton and de Blasio took the stage with "Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr. 

The mayor responded to a jab about his late endorsement of Clinton’s campaign by saying, "Sorry, Hillary. I was running on C.P. Time." You can hear the crowd’s uneasy laughter as Odom says, "That’s not…I don’t like jokes like that, Bill." Clinton then responded by saying "C.P. Time" stands for "Cautious Politician Time."

Their joke seemingly plays on the concept of "Colored People Time," the stereotype that African Americans are characteristically late.