Justin Trudeau brownface: Canada PM apologises after image emerges

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Kate Lyons and Leyland Cecco - The Guardian


https://i.imgur.com/kumC2u8.jpg

Justin Trudeau has apologised for wearing brownface makeup to a party when he was a teacher in 2001, saying “it was a racist thing to do” – and marking a potential turning point in next month’s tightly contested general election.

A photograph of Trudeau with brown makeup on his face, neck and hands and dressed in a turban and robes was published by Time magazine on Wednesday. It appeared in a school yearbook, while Trudeau, then 29, was working as a teacher at West Point Grey Academy.

“I apologise profoundly,” said the Canadian prime minister on Wednesday night after the photograph was published. “I regret it deeply. I’m deeply sorry I did that, I should have known better.”
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“It was something I should not have done. I didn’t think it was racist at the time, but now I see, it was a racist thing to do.”

Trudeau did not answer a question about whether he had considered resigning.

“In 2001, when I was a teacher in Vancouver, I attended an end-of-year gala, the theme was Arabian nights. I dressed up in an Aladdin costume and put makeup on. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry,” Trudeau said.

Political rivals seized on the opportunity to attack the prime minister, issuing scathing condemnations following revelations of the damning image.

Andrew Scheer, the Conservative leader and Trudeau’s main opponent, said he was “extremely shocked and disappointed” at the actions of the prime minister, calling his rival “unfit” to lead Canada. “It was racist in 2001, it’s racist now,” he said.

Scheer has consistently used the prime minister’s ethical lapses to paint the government as unable to govern effectively. But the Conservative leader has also faced calls to eject his own party members for racist or homophobic statements in recent weeks. He told reporters he would stand by candidates who showed genuine remorse for previous actions.

After issuing an initial condemnation of the image, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic party, released a second video, in which he emotionally described the racism he and many others faced growing up in Canada.

“Seeing this image today – the kids that see this image the people who see this image – are going to think about all the times in their life that they were made fun of, that they were hurt…that they were insulted, that they were made to feel less, because of who they are,” said Singh, the first non-white leader of a major federal party.

“Please reach out to loved ones. Please reach out to people who are suffering in silence right now. Please let them know they are loved. And they are celebrated for who they are.”

The Green party leader, Elizabeth May, said she was “deeply shocked by the racism shown in this photograph of Justin Trudeau”.

“He must apologize for the harm done and commit to learning and appreciating the requirement to model social justice leadership at all levels of government,” she said in a statement. “In this matter he has failed.”

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said his appearance in brownface was “disgraceful”, but later thanked the prime minister for apologizing.

In his apology, the prime minister also confirmed that this was not the first time he had done something like this, saying that when he was in high school he dressed up at a talent show and sang Day O, a traditional Jamaican folk song, “with makeup on”.

“Obviously I regret that I did it,” he said. “I’m pissed off at myself, obviously.”

He told reporters he had made numerous calls to friends and colleagues – and expected to make more on Thursday.

The incident comes as Trudeau is locked in a fight to maintain his parliamentary majority. Canadians vote on 21 October, in what many expect to be a tight race.

Polling suggests Trudeau and Scheer are deadlocked in the popular vote, but that the Liberals hold an edge when it comes to winning seats in parliament.

The election will be fought against the backdrop of a protracted political scandal for the incumbent prime minister, with accusations – including from the country’s ethics commissioner – that Trudeau acted improperly when he requested his attorney general to halt criminal prosecution of the Quebec-based engineering giant SNC Lavalin.

After his election in 2015, Trudeau was hailed for naming a young and ethnically-diverse cabinet, with a ministerial team that for the first time in the country’s history was equally balanced between men and women.

His cabinet included Maryam Monsef, who fled Afghanistan as a refugee 20 years ago and will oversee the democratic reform portfolio, as well as two Indigenous members of parliament and three Sikh politicians.

“It’s important to be here before you today to present to Canada a cabinet that looks like Canada,” Trudeau said after he was sworn in.

However, the Canadian leader has also been criticised for his treatment of Indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to the Trans Mountain pipeline project that the Liberal government has supported despite environmental and Indigenous groups fiercely opposing the project.

It is unclear how the image will impact the prime minister, who has cultivated a tightly-controlled social media image. When asked by reporters if he would eject a member of his own party for a similar image, he said he wouldn’t entertain “hypotheticals” and that each incident would be viewed on a “case-by-case basis”.

When asked why he should stay on as leader, Trudeau responded: “I’m asking Canadians to forgive me for what I did.”

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Tariq Tahir and Jenny Awford - The Sun


https://i.imgur.com/rQv7dlS.jpg

JUSTIN Trudeau has been pictured for the second time donning a blackface, this time singing in a talent show while wearing an Afro wig when he was at school.

The Canadian prime minister has already said he is "deeply sorry" after a previous image of him wearing dark make-up on his face, hands and neck sparked outrage.

https://i.imgur.com/yqYeCAW.jpg
Justin Trudeau was photographed wearing blackface at a party in 2001

But the blackface incident was seemingly not a one-off for the holier-than-thou politician, who is known for calling others out for racism as well as virtue-signalling.

The prime minister, who champions diversity and multiculturalism, was pictured dressed up as a black man at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, an elite high school in Quebec, which he attended.

He donned an Afro wig to perform his version of Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" - a song about people in Jamaica loading bananas onto boats - in a talent show.

Trudeau a fessed-up to reporters when that photograph that came to light.

His political rivals have blasted the PC PM, branding him a "hypocrite".

But the Liberal Party leader, 47, who is campaigning for re-election, said he is not planning to resign.

In the first photograph which came to light, Trudeau can be seen sporting a turban and robes at the Arabian Nights themed costume party at the West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver.

That photo was taken when Trudeau was a 29-year-old teacher at the private school, according to Time magazine.

Trudeau confirmed he was dressed as a character from Aladdin and said he had his arm around a "close friend".

"I should have known better then, but I didn't and I did it and I'm deeply sorry," Trudeau told reporters on his campaign plane in Nova Scotia.

"I'm p***ed off at myself, I'm disappointed in myself.

"I take responsibility for my decision to do that... it was something that I didn't think was racist at the time but now I recognise it was something racist to do."

He later added: "It was dumb".

'FORGIVE ME'

The prime minister said he made a mistake and asked Canadians to forgive him.

The photo appeared in the school’s 2000-2001 yearbook, The View.

Vancouver businessman, Michael Adamson, a member of the school community, shared the photo after feeling it should be made public.

The blackface scandal could undermine Trudeau's chances for re-election with less than five weeks to go before the national election.

Hundreds have already taken to social media to accuse Trudeau of racism, with some saying he should stand down.

'BIGGEST HYPOCRITE IN THE COUNTRY'

Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People's Party of Canada, slammed Trudeau as the “biggest hypocrite in the country”.

“I’m not going to accuse Justin Trudeau of being a racist,” he said.

“But he’s the master of identity politics and the Libs just spent months accusing everyone of being white supremacists.”

Canada’s Conservative later Andrew Scheer, who is running against Trudeau in the election, said he was “shocked and disappointed” by his rival’s actions.

“Wearing brown face is an act of open mockery and racism,” he said.

“What Canadians saw this evening is someone with a complete lack of judgement and integrity and someone who’s not fit to govern this country.”

'DEEPLY SHOCKED'

Elizabeth May, the leader of Canada's Green Party, tweeted: "I am deeply shocked by the racism shown in the photograph of Justin Trudeau.

"He must apologise for the harm done and commit to learning and appreciating the requirement to model social justice leadership at all levels of government.

"In this matter he has failed."

New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, who is sikh and wears a turban, sent a message of support to anyone who has ever been bullied over their race.

The photo could prove to be particularly politically embarrassing because Trudeau has been admired by liberals worldwide for his progressive policies.

The Liberal Party leader gained a record 148 seats in 2015, emerging as a darling of progressives around the world.

But his purchase of a controversial oil pipeline and an embarrassing trip to India have sent his popularity plummeting.

https://i.imgur.com/4QlQ4u9.jpg

[DemonGeminiX]

He's a liberal, so he's forgiven.

[Hal-9000]

Considering the platform he ran on and the current upcoming election, he may step down because of this.

He's doing the honest apology thing saying he wished he hadn't done it but he did it sort of thing :lol:

Depending on how his supporters accept the news this could be huge. Inclusiveness is a big talking point up here and the look on his face during the press conference on his plane was shock.

[Muddy]

This little honky is a disgrace to us good standing white people and he has personally slapped every person of color in the world in the face with his disgraceful actions...

[Teh One Who Knocks]

https://i.imgur.com/qyknH1I.jpg

[DemonGeminiX]

He's giving a press conference (outdoors) about it now. Somebody asks a question and he gives his answer in English first then in French. I understand that both languages are official, but do all of your politicians do that? What happens if they give a national address that takes two hours to deliver in a single language? Are you guys seriously sitting there for 4 hours as they go back and forth between English and French?

[Godfather]

He's giving a press conference (outdoors) about it now. Somebody asks a question and he gives his answer in English first then in French. I understand that both languages are official, but do all of your politicians do that? What happens if they give a national address that takes two hours to deliver in a single language? Are you guys seriously sitting there for 4 hours as they go back and forth between English and French?

Sometimes pressers go on double time because they answer questions in both languages. Most of the time though, they'll just answer questions in one language or the other (say for example answering half in one and half in the other) and the TV stations will have translators for whoever their audience is.

Sometimes Justin is a passive aggressive dick and answers questions to English reporters outside of Quebec in French just to be a dick. Because he's a big ol' weenie.

[Godfather]

Also I'm enjoying this fallout. The irony is amazing - Mr. PC himself getting eaten by his own.

I liked what one of the PM Candidates Maxime Bernier:


"I'm not going to accuse [Justin Trudeau] of being racist

But he's the master of identity politcs and the Libs just spent months accusing everyone of being white supremacists

He definite is the biggest hypocrite in the country"


Love it. To his first point I especially appreciate that he's not here to call Trudeau a racist. Right-leaning folks pretending to be offended by this 'racism' (which I don't think it really is an example of) are just as hypocritical as Trudeau is in their own right. What this really should be an opportunity for is to tell them their entire PC culture/cancel culture identity is completely ridiculous.

An East Indian friend of mine texted in our group chat today saying "that's a sick costume, I don't find it remotely racist and it's my people who he's dressed as" - but we all know and agree that any other day Trudeau would be the first guy in line to absolutely crucify anyone caught in a similar position.

Maaaaybe a few SJW's will now will realize that if Mr. Dressup himself, the beloved poster boy for white guilt and accepting all cultures, has this in his closet (not once but 3+ times) - then is it really racist? Do you really want everyone with this in their past cancelled? Or MAYBE you're all fucking ridiculous and need a sense of humor.

[Godfather]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EE3MtkAXYAUxs6w?format=jpg&name=medium

Well this aged well Mr. Prime Minister. :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EE3MtkAXYAUxs6w?format=jpg&name=medium

Well this aged well Mr. Prime Minister. :lol:

Oops :doh:


:lol:

[Muddy]

Dumbass.. what a hippo..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Barnini Chakraborty | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/fMGXFXW.png

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Thursday over his growing blackface scandal but stopped short of saying whether there were more pictures or videos of him dressed up in darkened makeup.

"I am wary of being definitive about this because the recent pictures that came out, I had not remembered," he said during a news conference in Winnipeg. "And, the question is, how can you not remember that? The fact is, I didn't understand how hurtful this is to people who live with discrimination every single day."

The Liberal Party leader and son of former Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau also blamed his "place of privilege" for his actions.

"I've always acknowledged that I come from a place of privilege but now I need to acknowledge that that comes with a massive blindspot," he said.

During his apology, he said he has since known dressing up in blackface was "always unacceptable."

"I should have understood that then, and I never should have done it," he said.

Earlier Thursday, Trudeau, 47, faced embarrassment after a new picture and video surfaced showing him wearing blackface, the third such incident to emerge in the past 24 hours.

A video obtained by Global News showed Trudeau covered in dark makeup with his hands in the air laughing, sticking out his tongue and making faces. His arms and legs were covered in black makeup as well. The video was shot in the 1990s but it's unclear where it took place.

News of the footage came a day after Globe and Mail's Robert Fife tweeted a picture of Trudeau wearing an afro wig and singing the Jamaican song "Day-O," during a talent show in the early 1990s at Jean Brebeuf High School.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NKCx7P_mpo

Trudeau already had apologized Wednesday after a school yearbook image emerged of him wearing dark makeup and a turban at an "Arabian Nights" party in 2001. The prime minister said, "it was a dumb thing to do."

Time magazine posted the photo, which it said was published in the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in British Columbia where Trudeau worked as a teacher before he entered politics.

Trudeau, who launched his reelection campaign a little over a week ago, told reporters traveling with him on his campaign plane that he should have known better.

"I'm pissed off at myself, I'm disappointed in myself," he said.

"I should have known better then but I didn't, and I am deeply sorry for it," he added. "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's unclear what, if any, political consequences Trudeau may face as he seeks another term. Pre-picture polls in Canada have shown him facing a serious challenge from Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

Following Trudeau's first apology, Scheer told reporters, "Wearing blackface is an act of open mockery and racism. It was just as racist in 2001 as it is in 2019."

Many Liberals, some of them minorities, rallied around Trudeau on Thursday, reflecting the reservoir of goodwill over his past support of diversity.

Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, a Liberal who is Sikh, said that what Trudeau did was wrong but that the prime minister had a record of standing up for minorities. Trudeau named Sajjan Canada’s first Sikh defense chief in 2015.

Half of Trudeau’s Cabinet is made up of women, four are Sikh and his immigration minister is a Somali-born refugee.

Greg Fergus, a Liberal member of Parliament who is black, said there was a lot of confusion and hurt in the black community but noted that the prime minister apologized.

Fergus pointed out that Trudeau had put Viola Desmond, a black woman who refused to leave the whites-only section of a Canadian movie theater in the 1940s, on Canada’s $10 bill.

"I think the real measure of the man, and I think the thing we need to be talking about, is all the amazing things we have done for diversity," Fergus said.

Mitzie Hunter, a Liberal who's running to lead the party in Ontario provincial politics and is black, tweeted: "I know it is not representative of the man he is. This is a teachable moment for all of us. I accept his apology and I hope Canadians do too."

Still, other liberals weren't ready to forgive and forget.

"I am deeply troubled by what this means to Canada. Young kids are not just going to see just one or two but multiple images of the prime minister mocking their lived reality," said Leftist New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, who is Sikh. "This is so hurtful to so many Canadians."

Trudeau was just the latest politician to come under fire for posing in racially offensive photos.

Earlier this year, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam faced intense pressure to resign after a racist picture surfaced from his 1984 medical school yearbook page. At first, he denied being in the picture but then admitted to wearing blackface to portray Michael Jackson at a dance party in the 1980s. Since then, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has acknowledged wearing blackface in college, and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has publicly apologized for wearing blackface during a college skit over 50 years ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Hal-9000]

Also I'm enjoying this fallout. The irony is amazing - Mr. PC himself getting eaten by his own.

I liked what one of the PM Candidates Maxime Bernier:



Love it. To his first point I especially appreciate that he's not here to call Trudeau a racist. Right-leaning folks pretending to be offended by this 'racism' (which I don't think it really is an example of) are just as hypocritical as Trudeau is in their own right. What this really should be an opportunity for is to tell them their entire PC culture/cancel culture identity is completely ridiculous.

An East Indian friend of mine texted in our group chat today saying "that's a sick costume, I don't find it remotely racist and it's my people who he's dressed as" - but we all know and agree that any other day Trudeau would be the first guy in line to absolutely crucify anyone caught in a similar position.

Maaaaybe a few SJW's will now will realize that if Mr. Dressup himself, the beloved poster boy for white guilt and accepting all cultures, has this in his closet (not once but 3+ times) - then is it really racist? Do you really want everyone with this in their past cancelled? Or MAYBE you're all fucking ridiculous and need a sense of humor.

I'm so on the fence about this it's almost humorous. On one hand it's like your brown friend said and Asian people who are fine with the Geisha girl costume. If the indigenous people from the costume's country aren't offended, should we be offended?

On the other hand Trudeau has been banging the drum so hard about diversity and inclusion, while making TONS of reparations to our First Nations people (Native Indians), it's soooo bloody comical this comes out of all things :lol: :lol:

Quick part of one of his apologies he says - At the time, we didn't consider it racist. I think there's weight to that statement but it can also get you crucified if you use it as an excuse.


Some Native Indian people have said that they love the way they're represented by sports teams and it's only a small amount that protest logos, depictions etc. One guy went as far to say - We've been seen as welfare cases and alcoholics so calling us Braves or Blackhawks is a compliment, not an insult.


Trudeau is still gonna run but I can tell you right now he's getting no seats in my province and it isn't even close :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

In all seriousness, who does this tilt the election in favor of now? Especially if a fair amount of Trudeau supporters decide they can't vote for him now after this.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

https://i.imgur.com/Ih28rcY.jpg

[Hal-9000]

In all seriousness, who does this tilt the election in favor of now? Especially if a fair amount of Trudeau supporters decide they can't vote for him now after this.

We have three main parties - Liberals (Trudeau), UPC (United progressive conservatives) and NDP (new democratic party).

The Liberals and UPC candidate are currently tied in the polls. UPC is just our old PC's with a new name. Republicans of Canada if you will. Recently we had a female NDP premiere run our province. Most say the NDP drove the recession deeper and has no fiscal responsibility.

So all of that to say - This helps both parties, UPC and NDP, the UPC moreso than anyone because of the numbers.

We've been dicking around with building pipelines for so long, any party that actually gets a shovel into the ground will probably win. Part of our four year recession in this province is the situation where we can find and produce way more than enough oil, we just can't distribute the amount manufactured. It's like we have tons of gold and no way to move it to a place where we can sell it.

I'm simplifying but most of our issues are about jobs/health benefits and taxes...the cesspool of diversity and inclusion only comes as an afterthought or when bombshells like this happen :lol:

[Hal-9000]

eg Trudeau recently finally got the okay for a pipeline...right in front of a national election.

Some say the NDP and Liberals work in collusion from the provincial to national levels with decisions like this.


The progressive conservatives and liberals have been battling across our country since I was a kid in the 70's. Liberals are typically supported in eastern Canada, conservatives are heavily supported out west here in cattle and oil country.

[DemonGeminiX]

When Trudeau says one thing in English and then follows up in French, does anyone ever complain about him repeating himself?

[Godfather]

When Trudeau says one thing in English and then follows up in French, does anyone ever complain about him repeating himself?

No, Trudeau's father made bilingualism official in the late 1960's when he was PM. It was controversial then, but now it's been in place most of our lives, so when it comes to Federal politics we're used to it. Sometimes a politician will answer questions or make statements in both languages, sometimes they'll do a speech half and half in each language and there's TV translators. You also have to keep in mind that many Federal politicians don't speak French as well as Trudeau so some prior PM's really limit their French speaking. Perhaps that draws the ire of Quebecois but they're always angry :lol: It's not really a point of contention I hear brought up otherwise, even way out west in BC where virtually nobody speaks french as their native tongue. It's also not something you see in Provincial or Municipal level politics, just at the Federal level.

[Godfather]

We have three main parties - Liberals (Trudeau), UPC (United progressive conservatives) and NDP (new democratic party).

The Liberals and UPC candidate are currently tied in the polls. UPC is just our old PC's with a new name. Republicans of Canada if you will. Recently we had a female NDP premiere run our province. Most say the NDP drove the recession deeper and has no fiscal responsibility.

So all of that to say - This helps both parties, UPC and NDP, the UPC moreso than anyone because of the numbers.

We've been dicking around with building pipelines for so long, any party that actually gets a shovel into the ground will probably win. Part of our four year recession in this province is the situation where we can find and produce way more than enough oil, we just can't distribute the amount manufactured. It's like we have tons of gold and no way to move it to a place where we can sell it.

I'm simplifying but most of our issues are about jobs/health benefits and taxes...the cesspool of diversity and inclusion only comes as an afterthought or when bombshells like this happen :lol:



Just a small correction though that UPC is Alberta's Conservative party for Provincial politics (running MLA's and for the Premier of AB) which I don't think Lance was asking about. On the federal level for the upcoming election, it's still the Conservative Party of Canada that's running for MP's and Prime Minister. Obviously they play similar roles but the Alberta NDP and UPC are not the same parties as the federal NDP and Conservative Party.

[Hal-9000]

When Trudeau says one thing in English and then follows up in French, does anyone ever complain about him repeating himself?


No, Trudeau's father made bilingualism official in the late 1960's when he was PM. It was controversial then, but now it's been in place most of our lives, so when it comes to Federal politics we're used to it. Sometimes a politician will answer questions or make statements in both languages, sometimes they'll do a speech half and half in each language and there's TV translators. You also have to keep in mind that many Federal politicians don't speak French as well as Trudeau so some prior PM's really limit their French speaking. Perhaps that draws the ire of Quebecois but they're always angry :lol: It's not really a point of contention I hear brought up otherwise, even way out west in BC where virtually nobody speaks french as their native tongue. It's also not something you see in Provincial or Municipal level politics, just at the Federal level.

Most places in Canada have an English first policy like on signage and packaging. For the most part we don't see much French on our national news as it alienates about 96% of the country. We don't say much against it, but it's not a 'comfortable' method to impart news etc.

Quebec has never signed our version of the Constitution and has always lived under different rule eg Different holidays, different tax implications, should be bilingual but often only communicate in French..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Act,_1982

[Hal-9000]

Just a small correction though that UPC is Alberta's Conservative party for Provincial politics (running MLA's and for the Premier of AB) which I don't think Lance was asking about. On the federal level for the upcoming election, it's still the Conservative Party of Canada that's running for MP's and Prime Minister. Obviously they play similar roles but the Alberta NDP and UPC are not the same parties as the federal NDP and Conservative Party.

Yeah but it's still PC any way you slice it. Don't confuse our Yank friends :lol:

thanks

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Most places in Canada have an English first policy like on signage and packaging. For the most part we don't see much French on our national news as it alienates about 96% of the country. We don't say much against it, but it's not a 'comfortable' method to impart news etc.

Quebec has never signed our version of the Constitution and has always lived under different rule eg Different holidays, different tax implications, should be bilingual but often only communicate in French..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Act,_1982https://i.imgur.com/fpyFv3G.jpg
Quebec forever :x

[PorkChopSandwiches]

https://i.redd.it/y7l6bab3cco31.jpg