Jimmy Kimmel Has Issued An Apology For His ‘Embarrassing’ Impressions Of Black Celebrities
As the hashtag #CancelKimmel trends on Twitter this morning following the blackface controversy, Jimmy Kimmel is now speaking out to apologize for his actions.
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The late-night host apologized Tuesday for a series of impressions he did in the past of Black celebrities, including former NBA player Karl Malone. Kimmel said in a prepared statement:
“I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke,” Variety quotes.
As we previously reported, Kimmel has come under scrutiny in recent days after a series of appearances he made in the past have resurfaced on social media. The major backlash also comes shortly after his announcement that he had decided to take the summer off from hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to avoid further controversy. But reps confirmed that his vacation was already planned prior to all the drama.
Read Kimmel’s full statement below:
On KROQ radio in the mid-90s, I did a recurring impression of the NBA player Karl Malone. In the late 90s, I continued impersonating Malone on TV. We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible. I never considered that this might be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head. I’ve done dozens of impressions of famous people, including Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie, and many others. In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more. Looking back, many of these sketches are embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices.
I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show. I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.
My summer vacation has been planned for more than a year and includes the next two summers off as well. I will be back to work in September.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to explain and to those I’ve disappointed, I am sorry.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Kimmel
Kimmel’s main rival on NBC, Jimmy Fallon, has also apologized for doing a “blackface” impression of comedian Chris Rock on “Saturday Night Live” back in 2000 after a clip of it resurfaced online. Fallon also took some time on “Tonight” to discuss the issues around his old appearance.
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