Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is “deeply sorry” for having donned blackface in several separate incidents in the early 2000s.
Trudeau expressed his regret in a hastily put together press conference aboard his campaign plane late Wednesday. He told reporters that dressing up as Aladdin for an “Arabian Nights” themed fundraiser — a costume that included dark face makeup — was a “dumb thing to do,” the Associated Press reports.
“I’m pissed off at myself, I’m disappointed in myself,” Trudeau said.
“I should have known better then but I didn’t, and I am deeply sorry for it,” Trudeau continued. “I’m going to ask Canadians to forgive me for what I did. I shouldn’t have done that. I take responsibility for it. It was a dumb thing to do.”
Trudeau claimed that he gets more “enthusiastic” about costumes than is “sometimes appropriate,” and admitted to both the Aladdin get up and a separate incident, where he donned blackface and sung “Day-O” in a video, pretending to be Harry Belafonte.
Thursday morning, a photo emerged of Trudeau in a third costume involving blackface. At publication, Trudeau had yet to address the third incident.
Time Magazine published the photo of Trudeau, decked out in Arabic-looking attire and smiling from behind very dark brown makeup late Wednesday night. The picture was apparently taken at an “Arabian Nights”-themed fundraiser for a high school where Trudeau taught, West Point Grey Academy.
Trudeau claims that the costume was not considered racist at the time, and that “society knows better now,” in the words of the Associated Press. But the incident happened in 2001 when Trudeau was well into adulthood and blackface was clearly considered unacceptable — a fact many on social media were quick to point out.
Trudeau, who is Canada’s current Prime Minister, is facing an uphill battle for re-election, and the blackface photos were released just as the country gears up to vote. In a handful of press conferences held across Canada, politicians to Trudeaus right and left attacked Canada’s embattled leader.
“It is insulting. Any time we hear examples of brownface or blackface it’s making a mockery of someone for what they live, for what their lived experiences are. I think he has to answer for it,” Leftist New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, who is Canada’s first minority party leader, told AP. Conservatives pointed out Trudeau’s blatant hypocrisy; the Prime Minister is known for openly chiding his countrymen — especially conservatives — who do not use “inclusive” language or embrace his “progressive” ideals.
Trudeau has also openly criticized American President Donald Trump for, in his mind, espousing racist ideas, particularly in regards to Trump’s immigration policies (even though Canada also has strict rules about immigration and has cracked down heavily on illegal border-jumpers in recent years).
Trudeau is already facing allegations of hypocrisy in this election cycle, as well as claims of scandal. Earlier this year, female members of Trudeau’s government, including his former attorney general, claimed they were booted from high-level positions in his administration after they blew the whistle on a sweetheart deal. According to justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who brought Trudeau’s alleged misdeeds before Parliament, the Prime Minister pressured her office to drop prosecution of an engineering company to which Trudeau and his friends have ties.
Wilson-Raybould claimed that Trudeau “directed his staff to find a solution that would safeguard SNC-Lavalin’s business interest in Canada,” according to a report filed with the Canadian Ethics Commission, which also found Trudeau in violation of ethics rules.