Canadian PM Trudeau's brownface scandal deepens as other images emerge

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologizes for wearing brownface makeup in 2001. Photo: CBC via REUTERS.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologizes for wearing brownface makeup in 2001. Photo: CBC via REUTERS.

Published Sep 19, 2019

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OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau's brownface picture scandal deepened on Thursday as

other images of him emerged wearing dark make-up only hours

after he had apologized for what he characterized as a racist

act at a 2001 costume party.

With less than five weeks to go before a national election,

Time magazine published a picture of him on Wednesday in

brownface from an "Arabian Nights" party when he was a

29-year-old teacher at a private school in Vancouver.

During his apology, he also admitted to performing "Day O",

a traditional Jamaican song made famous by Harry Belafonte, in

brownface during a high school talent show years earlier. The

Canadian Broadcasting Corp then published a picture from that

performance that was confirmed as authentic by a spokeswoman.

Also, Global News put out a video showing Trudeau again in

dark make-up making faces and sticking his tongue out. It was

not immediately clear exactly when that video was from.

"We can confirm that it is him and it's from the early

1990s," a Liberal official said of the video without clarifying

the circumstances around the video.

Trudeau was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for a campaign stop, and

he was due to speak to reporters at an event there at 2:15 p.m.

ET (1815 GMT).

He spent the morning calling "many" Liberal candidates and

community leaders to fully apologize for what he did "knowing

how racist and hurtful this type of thing was to do,"

spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro said.

Trudeau has championed racial equality and diversity as

prime minister over the past four years, and he has three

prominent ministers of Indian descent in his cabinet.

But it was clear when his main competitor, Conservative

Party leader Andrew Scheer, called him "unfit to govern" late on

Wednesday that it could be a turning point in a very tight

election race that now has the two virtually tied.

"It is clearly very damaging at this time and the full

impacts will not become clear for a week or so," said Frank

Graves, head of EKOS Research polling company.

"I don't think it will be fatal but time will tell. The

Liberals have high ground on the diversity and racism file, and

Trudeau needs to unremittingly note how he screwed up... Voters

will then decide," he said. 

Reuters

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