Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has found himself at the center of another highly-publicized “blackface” scandal, admitting to wearing a variant of the racial makeup known as “brownface” at a party in 2001, as per the New York Post.
The Canadian prime minister admitted further that the incident in 2001, where he wore brownface and a turban for an “Arabian Nights”-themed party, was not the first time he had done so. Trudeau admitted to reporters that he had also worn blackface “at a talent show” while he was in high school, where he “sang ‘Day-O’ with makeup on.”
Saying that he “didn’t think it was racist at the time,” Trudeau said that “now I recognize it was racist,” and added that he was “disappointed in myself” and “pissed off at myself.”
Trudeau’s is the latest high-profile example of a politician admitting to having worn blackface in the past. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D-Va.) was alleged to have worn blackface in a college yearbook photo in 1984, as he posed next to someone dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He was asked to resign but ultimately refused to do so.