News and Commentary

Alyssa Milano Defends Darkening Face In Years-Old Parody Video

   DailyWire.com
Alyssa Milano attends the special screening of Liongate's "Bombshell" at Regency Village Theatre on December 10, 2019 in Westwood, California.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty Images

On Saturday, actress and left-wing activist Alyssa Milano defended a years-old parody video wherein Milano darkens her face to look like reality TV star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of “Jersey Shore” fame.

“The right wing trolls are using a still from this funny or die video where a [sic] parodied Snookie from Jersey Shore,” Milano posted on Saturday. “If you see the screen grab that they are using maybe you can shut them down with a link to the entire video.”

“Is she racist? #AlyssaBlackface,” one critic posted in response to Milano, captioning a photo of the actress with darkened face makeup on from the 2013 “Funny or Die” sketch.

“This is me playing snookie/Jersey Shore in a funny or die video,” Milano responded, linking to the video.

Polizzi, a.k.a “Snooki,” was born in Chile and raised by Italian adoptive parents.

The reality star identified as Chilean until 2014, when DNA testing revealed her mixed ethnicities of “Northern India, gypsy, Iberian American, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Jewish with roots in North Western Croatia, Macedonia, Slovakia, Russia, and Spain,” according to Newsmax.

“I would say once I was 16, 17, I started to think, ‘Why didn’t my birth parents want me? What do they look like? Do I have any brothers and sisters?’ Because I grew up an only child, I always wanted a brother or sister to grow up with,” Polizzi said of her upbringing in a years-old video post, according to Page Six.

“I hate being an only child, it makes me a bitter b*tch that I am today. That’s why I want, like, 10 kids so they don’t feel that way,” the reality star continued, adding, “Eventually, when I was 21, 22, I got my dad drunk and was like, ‘Dad, can you just tell me what went on? Why was I up for adoption?’”

“I can’t even imagine because I have two kids, putting up a child for adoption, to give them a better life,” Polizzi said. “That’s so amazing for them, that shows how much they loved me. But also I could never do that. I can’t even imagine how they felt giving me up but thank you for that.”

The reality star, prior to DNA testing, then joked that if she stayed with her birth family, she would “still be a hot mess,” “just in Spanish, probably.”

In the wake of George Floyd’s death and subsequent mounting racial tensions, Hollywood celebrities are being scrutinized for past work that involved face darkening or blackface.

On Tuesday, for example, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel finally broke his silence concerning his past donning of blackface in old “Man Show” sketches.

“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,” Kimmel said. “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.”

WATCH:

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Alyssa Milano Defends Darkening Face In Years-Old Parody Video