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A Republican congressman from New York was confronted with photos of him carrying blackface as a part of a Michael Jackson costume.
On Thursday (Oct. 3), Republican Congressman Mike Lawler discovered himself caught up in controversy when photos of him in blackface for a Halloween portrayal of Michael Jackson have been printed. The publication of the photographs by the New York Occasions, taken in October 2006, present Lawler at a gathering at Manhattan Faculty putting a pose much like a signature pose of Jackson’s, and one other of him carrying a pink jacket and black t-shirt along with his face noticeably darkened. In response to a former classmate who remained nameless, Lawler used bronzer, which he borrowed from a feminine classmate.
In a press release, the consultant for New York’s seventeenth district together with the Hudson Valley mentioned that his costume was “really the sincerest type of flattery, a real homage to my musical hero since I used to be a bit of child attempting to moonwalk by my mother’s kitchen.” Lawler has been an avowed fan of the late famous person, with Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli having organized for him to attend Jackson’s legal trial in 2005 for the alleged molestation of a 13-year-old boy. Taraborrelli would later element how Lawler was so upset “that he couldn’t assist however mutter one thing derogatory below his breath.” He would then be kicked out of the courtroom.
Lawler appeared on CNN later within the night on The Supply with Kaitlan Collins. “I definitely perceive why folks could be upset or offended by it, and for that, I’m sorry,” he mentioned, earlier than remarking that he felt his photographs weren’t what could possibly be “construed as blackface.” “I believe there’s a stark distinction between dressing up for Halloween and paying homage to someone you want and respect, versus dressing up in blackface to demean and dehumanize Black folks. That’s clearly not what I used to be doing there,” Lawler mentioned. Collins would then go into the “ugly historical past” of the apply, noting that Lawler’s suburban district is house to 59,000 Black residents.
The controversy arises as Lawler is up for reelection in opposition to former congressman Mondaire Jones. Lawler has shifted to a extra reasonable place in current months, being imprecise about his full assist of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Jones, who’s Black, has hammered him on that assist in his marketing campaign. The district is one observers are watching intently as a attainable flip again to Democratic management in November.
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