Jimmy Kimmel is the latest late night host to apologize for previously performing in blackface.
On Tuesday, the Jimmy Kimmel Live host issued a statement addressing his history of impersonating Black celebrities while using makeup to darken his skin, calling the clips “embarrassing” in hindsight.
He shared:
“There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.”
As fans may be aware, the comedian has come under fire over the years for a recurring bit on The Man Show where he impersonated NBA player Karl Malone while wearing blackface. During the run of the show, which ended in 2004, Kimmel also donned blackface to impersonate Oprah Winfrey.
In his statement, Kimmel said he’s been “reluctant to address” the blackface incidents out of fear the conservative critics who have been pushing the clips on social media would use his statement against him in a continued attempt to silence his condemnation of “their oppressive and genuinely racist agenda.”
“I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.”
The father-of-four also not-so-subtly shaded these conservative critics’ morally corrupt leader, President Donald Trump — who pointedly never apologizes for any wrongdoing — saying his own admission “would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us.”
He did actually hold himself accountable, saying:
“Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices… I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show.”
The statement is a bit more biting than Jimmy Fallon’s similar apology for an old Saturday Night Live sketch in which he wore blackface to impersonate Chris Rock. Back in May, The Tonight Show host admitted that wearing blackface was a “terrible decision” and “unquestionably offensive.”
Kimmel, for his part, concluded his message by stating that his upcoming three-month summer break from Jimmy Kimmel Live has been planned for over a year and is not related to the undying controversy.
Read the statement in full (below):
“I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.
On KROQ radio in the mid-90s, I did a recurring impression of the NBA player Karl Malone. In the late 90s, I continued impersonating Malone on TV. We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible. I never considered that this might be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head. I’ve done dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie , and many others. In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more. Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices.
I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show. I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.
My summer vacation has been planned for more than a year and includes the next two summers off as well. I will be back to work in September.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to explain and to those I’ve disappointed, I am sorry.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Kimmel”
What do U think about Kimmel’s apology, Perezcious readers?
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