blackface

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NY Rep: I Wore Blackface in Homage to My Musical Idol

NYT finds photos of Mike Lawler dressed as pop star at college Halloween party

(Newser) - US Rep. Mike Lawler apologized Thursday after the New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson. The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is locked in a competitive reelection fight for his...

California Students Expelled for 'Blackface' Awarded $1M

Photos of them in acne masks went viral in 2020

(Newser) - In 2020, two California high school students were expelled from their Bay Area Catholic school after photos from 2017 emerged in which they were accused of donning blackface. The photos went viral amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody, and other students and parents...

Soprano Says She'll Boycott Theater Over Blackface

Producers in Italy say Angel Blue knew about the staging before signing up

(Newser) - Angel Blue says she won't perform in an opera in Italy this month because blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage. The US soprano posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out of La ...

Governor's Campaign Takes Flak for Going After Teen

Tweet by Virginia's 'Team Youngkin' called out 17-year-old critic by name and photo

(Newser) - Virginia's new Republican governor is taking some heat because his campaign called out a teenage critic by name and photo. The tweet was not put up by Gov. Glenn Youngkin but by his "Team Youngkin" staff, and it has since been deleted, reports the Washington Post . The controversy...

Protesters Confront 'Black Pete' at Holiday Event

Demonstrations have gone on for a decade against controversial Dutch sidekick to Santa

(Newser) - About 100 anti-racism protesters chanted "Kick out Black Pete!" on Saturday at an event where children could meet the Dutch version of Santa Claus and his controversial sidekick. The "Black Pete" character, often played by adults wearing blackface makeup, has sparked a decade of demonstrations and counterdemonstrations...

Virginia Politician Apologizes Over Blackface Costume

Warsaw council member Faron Hamblin says his Eddie Murphy costume was a tribute, not an insult

(Newser) - Halloween has come and gone, but not without another entry in the annals of I'm-sorry-about-my-blackface costume. In this case, the controversy centers around a local Virginia politician. Faron Hamblin, a white member of the town council in Warsaw, posted an image of himself on Facebook dressed as Randy Watson,...

Chinese New Year Gala Features Blackface Performers

Black group calls broadcast 'extremely disappointing'

(Newser) - Chinese state TV included dancers in blackface portraying Africans during a national broadcast as Asia welcomed the lunar Year of the Ox with subdued festivities Friday amid travel curbs to contain renewed coronavirus outbreaks. The "African Song and Dance" performance Thursday came at start of the Spring Festival Gala,...

Blackface or Just Mud? Hulu Pulls Golden Girls Episode

To the dismay of many

(Newser) - Some say Hulu has gone too far after the streaming service pulled an episode of the Golden Girls due to a potential blackface controversy. The episode features Betty White's Rose and Rue McClanahan's Blanche wearing mud masks on their faces when they meet a black family for the...

Jimmy Kimmel Slammed for 'Non-Apology' Over Blackface

Late night host is being criticized by some for his statement

(Newser) - Jimmy Kimmel is joining the long list of entertainers apologizing for past use of blackface—although he may have simply added more fuel to the fire with what some are calling a "non-apology." The late night host impersonated celebrities including Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey in a series...

Tina Fey Yanks Blackface Episodes of 30 Rock

They have an 'ugliness' and are 'best taken out of circulation,' she writes

(Newser) - Four episodes of 30 Rock are about to become very hard to find. The episodes featuring actors in blackface are being scrubbed from TV, streaming services, and purchase platforms, at the request of NBCUniversal executive producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. "As we strive to do the work and...

Here's What Howard Stern Has to Say About Blackface Sketch

Radio host lampooned Ted Danson in 1993

(Newser) - The latest blackface sketch to resurface on social media: Howard Stern's 1993 skit in which he dons blackface in order to mock Ted Danson, who had earlier that year donned blackface at Whoopi Goldberg's Friar's Club Roast. As USA Today explains, Danson and Goldberg were dating at...

Jerry Falwell Jr. Just Issued a 'Rare Apology'

Liberty University president says sorry for mask 'joke' using blackface photo linked to Va. governor

(Newser) - Jerry Falwell Jr.'s attempt to make a face mask joke at the expense of his state's governor has backfired—and now it's even prompted what the New York Times calls a "rare apology" and deleted tweet from the Liberty University president. It all started when...

Fallon Talks 'Biggest Crime' of White Guys

'Tonight Show' host vows to end the silence on racism

(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon promised a "different kind of show" in returning to the Tonight Show after a weeklong hiatus on Monday—and he delivered. Days after tweeting an apology for a 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch in which he impersonated Chris Rock in blackface, Fallon opened with a somber monologue...

20-Year-Old SNL Sketch Causing Problems for Jimmy Fallon

In it, he dons blackface

(Newser) - A 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch has come back to haunt Jimmy Fallon. Fallon, now the host of the Tonight Show, was at the time an SNL cast member doing an impression of Chris Rock—in blackface. (Rock left the show in 1993.) The skit was resurfaced on Twitter...

Teacher's Halloween Get-Up Gets Him Put on Leave

Unidentified instructor raps while in blackface in class at California high school

(Newser) - A California high school teacher is on administrative leave following the "inappropriate, unprofessional, and insensitive" decision to wear blackface for Halloween. A student posted a video to Twitter on Friday showing the Milpitas High School teacher in blackface at the front of a classroom while dressed as rapper Common,...

Justin Trudeau's Racism Scandal Just Got Worse
Justin Trudeau's Racism
Scandal Just Got Worse
the rundown
Sep 19, 2019 10:00 AM CDT

Justin Trudeau's Racism Scandal Just Got Worse

Video emerges of a 3rd instance of the Canadian prime minister darkening his skin

(Newser) - Justin Trudeau's trouble is only getting worse. Canada's Global News is out with video showing the prime minister in blackface—the third example to emerge in the last day of Trudeau darkening his skin as part of a costume. Trudeau apologized Wednesday when the first two old images...

Trudeau 'Really Sorry' About Old Party Photo

Picture emerges of Canada's prime minister in brownface

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years ago, Justin Trudeau wore brownface at a party—and now it's back to haunt him. In the midst of a reelection campaign, Canada's prime minister responded to a photo in Time of him wearing brownface at a 2001 party. Trudeau said he wore the costume...

Alabama Gov.: 'Heavens No, I'm Not Going to Resign'

She apologizes for 1967 blackface skit

(Newser) - Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said Tuesday that she should not have worn blackface in a college skit decades ago, but she does not plan to resign over something that happened so long in the past. In her first public appearance since issuing a public apology last week, Ivey reiterated that...

Sarah Silverman: Old Blackface Sketch Cost Me a Role

She says she was recently fired from a film over the 2007 incident

(Newser) - Sarah Silverman donned blackface years ago for a sketch on her old show ( a move she no longer stands by ), and the comedian revealed on a recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast that she was recently fired from a film over the 2007 incident. "At 11pm...

The Probe Into Northam's Yearbook Photo Is Complete

Investigators still unsure if Virginia governor is pictured

(Newser) - An investigation ordered up by a Virginia medical school failed to determine whether Gov. Ralph Northam is in a 1984 yearbook photo of a man in blackface next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan hood. Investigators with a law firm hired by Eastern Virginia Medical School said Wednesday they...

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