Blackface michaels

Rep. Mike Lawler responds to 2006 photo showing him in blackface for Halloween costume

Washington — Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican in a tight race for reelection, apologized for wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume when he was in college. 

A photo of Lawler's Halloween costume from 2006, when he was 20, was published by the New York Times on Thursday. Lawler is wearing a red leather jacket that resembles the one Jackson wears in his "Thriller" music video. Lawler's face has also been darkened. 

Lawler confirmed the authenticity of the photo in a statement to CBS News, saying the costume was meant to be "the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to one of my childhood idols since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my Mom's kitchen." 

"When attempting to imitate Michael's legendary dance moves at a college Halloween party eighteen years ago, the ugly practice of black face was the furthest thing from my mind," he said. "Let me be clear, this is not that." 

"I am a student of history and for anyone who

Blackface

Theatrical makeup caricaturing Black people

For other uses, see Blackface (disambiguation).

Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a global perspective that includes European culture and Western colonialism.[1] Scholars with this wider view may date the practice of blackface to as early as Medieval Europe's mystery plays when bitumen and coal were used to darken the skin of white performers portraying demons, devils, and damned souls. Still others date the practice to English Renaissance theater, in works such as William Shakespeare's Othello.

However, some scholars see blackface as a specific practice limited to American culture that began in the minstrel show; a performance art that originated in the United States in the early 19th century and which contained its own performance practices unique to the American stage. Scholars taking this point of vi

MAGA congressman seen in photo wearing blackface as part of Michael Jackson Halloween costume

MAGA lawmaker Mike Lawler has been forced to apologize after a photo emerged of him wearing blackface at a Halloween college party.

The photo of the 38-year-old rising House star, published by TheNew YorkTimes, shows Lawler dressed as Michael Jackson at a party at Manhattan College in October 2006.

In the image, Lawler, who is in a close-run race to hold onto his seat, is sporting a red leather Thriller jacket and striking one of Jackson’s signature poses. His face has been visibly darkened.

The image was one of several shared on Facebook at the time, with old classmates vouching for its authenticity, the Times reported.

Lawler admitted toThe Independent that he had used bronzer to visibly darken his face, but claimed that “the ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind.”

His spokesperson Nate Soule claimed that it was the only instance Lawler had wore blackface while dressing as Jackson.

“Let me be clear, this is not that,” the GOP congressman con

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