U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said he was sorry Thursday after the New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson.
The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is locked in a competitive reelection fight for his congressional seat in New York’s Hudson Valley.
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lawler described himself as a lifelong Jackson superfan who was attempting to pay homage to the pop star.
The Times reported that the photo was taken in 2006 when Lawler was 20. In an image posted by the newspaper, Lawler can be seen wearing a red jacket and posing with an outstretched arm in one of Jackson’s signature dance moves. He used bronzer to darken his face.
There are plenty of photos of me at 20. And I’m doing dumb shit in plenty of them. I’m doing dumb racist shit in precisely zero of them.
It really didn’t take any effort to not be racist.
We were fucking abhorrent and the entire point was to show your friend group you trusted them.
going to this much effort isn’t that of course but America likes to dial these things up to 11 so who knows, could be a Skull and Bones thing.
I will say growing up where I did it took some effort, but not that much. Once you know whose racist and not to be listened to it’s a lot easier. It’s that time before you figure that out that’s dangerous.