Canada’s Justin Trudeau Has A “Brownface” Problem

Canada's prime minister is facing scrutiny for a photo that showed him in “brownface”– what the rest of us call “blackface” – during a party 18 years ago. The photo appears a yearbook for the private school where Justin Trudeau was teaching in 2001 – when he was 29-years-old. You can see the image below.

In it he's wearing a turban with his face painted in very dark makeup. Apparently, the picture was apparently taken at an "Arabian Nights"-themed party that was attended by faculty, administrators and parents.

Soon after a spokesperson for Trudeau's Liberal Party of Canada confirmed that is Trudeau in the picture, he greeted reporters and apologized. “I apologize profoundly,” Trudeau offered. “I regret it deeply. I’m deeply sorry I did that, I should have known better.” And while he did admit it was “racist,” he skipped on answering a question about if he should resign.

And apparently, it’s not the only time he’s donned dark makeup. When asked if this occasion was this the only time in his life he’d done something like this, Trudeau replied. “When I was in high school I dressed up at a talent show and sang 'Day O' (a traditional Jamaican song about people loading bananas onto boats) with make-up on.

Source: Time