Barr made the unbelievably tone-deaf claim Wednesday at a Constitution Day celebration hosted by Hillsdale College in Michigan, after he was asked about constitutional hurdles in blocking churchgoers during a pandemic.

This led to a lengthy response in which Barr blasted state governors -- claiming they're stifling citizens and businesses from returning to work -- and compared coronavirus lockdowns to house arrest and slavery.

The offensive parallel has pissed off politicians, celebs and journalists ... all of whom are going off on the AG.

Now, Barr did qualify his comment by saying slavery "was a different kind of restraint." Gee, thanks for pointing that out, Bill.