Martellus Bennett has a message for Patriots haters

Former Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett stopped by “The Daily Show” Wednesday to discuss his post-retirement activities, but he also took a brief moment to address any Patriots haters out there who might have a problem with him.

“You are a legend for many people,” host Trevor Noah told Bennett. “We have many Patriots fans in the building. We also have many people who hate Patriots with all of their hearts.”

Bennett’s one-sentence reaction to the haters? “A lot of people hate winners.”

Bennett also talked about what he’s been working on since retiring from the NFL at age 31, talking in particular about the new children’s book he released through his company, The Imagination Agency.

“I always tell people I was born a creative and learned to be an athlete,” Bennett said. “I’ve always been creating, no one had to teach me how to create, I always made things. I had to learn how to run and catch a ball.”

Bennett said he was inspired to start writing children’s books when he went to read some of his favorite children’s books to his daughter, and realized there weren’t many characters “who looked like her.” But Bennett also made clear that the color of the protagonist’s skin in his newest book, “Hey A.J., It’s Bedtime!,” isn’t a focus of the book at all.

“I love [the book] because it’s just a little black girl, and it’s not focused on her color, it’s just focused on her awesomeness,” Bennett said.