Jimmy Fallon issued an apology after he faced backlash for wearing blackface in a resurfaced Saturday Night Live skit.
“In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface,” Fallon began in a statement he shared to Twitter on Tuesday, May 26.
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“There is no excuse for this,” the Late Night Show Starring Jimmy Fallon host continued.
“I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable,” he added.
Fallon found himself in big trouble this week after a clip of him in blackface went viral on Twitter.
In the skit, which first aired in 2000 and featured Saturday Night Live alum Darrell Hammond, Fallon impersonated Chris Rock while wearing dark brown makeup and a textured wig.
The hashtag #JimmyFallonIsOverParty began to trend late-Monday night with users calling Fallon a racist for the skit.
“Disgusting #JimmyFallonIsOverParty,” one Twitter user tweeted.
“I’m sorry but this is my first time ever seeing this [and] this is making my heart hurt,” another wrote.
“No one is asking y’all to cancel @JimmyFallon. However, what we are asking from Jimmy is an acknowledgement to his use of blackface, why did he do it an an apology to black people for donning such a racist, oppressive and downright disgusting overt display of symbolic racism,” one Twitter user tweeted.
While others asked for people to shift their blame to Saturday Night Live.
“So how are we gonna cancel Jimmy Fallon for doing blackface but not cancel Saturday Night Live for letting him do that,” a different user said.
In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this.
I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.
— Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon) May 26, 2020
Brittany R
Brittany is a writer who is obsessed with rom-com movies, Gossip Girl, reality television, fashion, and pop-culture. When she isn't reporting on the latest celeb buzz, she is filling up her online shopping cart without checking out.