Several photos of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing blackface surfaced online amid his six-week re-election campaign. This comes after ethical questions arose over whether Trudeau pressured the former Canadian attorney general to drop charges against a major construction firm and avoid a corruption trial.
The first photo was released at the end of last week, showing Trudeau wearing blackface while portraying a character from the Disney movie Aladdin during an "Arabian Nights" themed event in 2001. Trudeau addressed the photo with reporters, telling them that he "shouldn't have done it. I should have known better, but I didn't. And I'm really sorry."
Another set of photos surfaced of Trudeau in blackface, one which shows him portraying Harry Belafonte while singing "Day Oh" at a high school talent show. Another shows Trudeau wearing blackface at another high school event.
After outrage grew against Trudeau wearing blackface, he addressed the situation again, stating, "Darkening your face is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface. I should have understood that then, and I never should have done it." He added that he "came from a place of privilege, but I now need to acknowledge that comes with a massive blind spot."
Trudeau also admitted that he did not know how many times he had worn blackface, stating, "I am wary of, of being definitive about this because the recent pictures that came out I had not remembered."
Source: USA Today
