Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in hot water ahead of his country’s election in October after photos of him in blackface emerged. The first picture was from an Arabian Nights party in 2001, and the subsequent two were from his teenage years ?— one with Trudeau dressed as Jamaican singer Harry Belafonte and the second showing him dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans.
USA Today reports that Daily Show host Trevor Noah addressed the controversy on Thursday’s episode of the show, and didn’t mince his words.
“This is not good man. You realize what happened here. Trudeau came out to apologize for one blackface and ended up admitting to more,” Noah said.
Noah also ripped Trudeau for his excuse, which suggested that his enthusiasm for costumes was the reason for his blackface.
“Because besides being problematic, it also sounds like Justin Trudeau would be the most annoying person on Halloween,” he said.
The 35-year-old host also joked about whether the scandal would hurt Trudeau’s chances of being re-elected.
“To be honest, I’m just sad to see another black man being brought down. Breaks my heart.”
Rolling Stone reports that the Canadian election will take place on October 21. Andrew Sheer, Canada’s conservative opposition leader, did not hesitate to criticize the photos and suggested they are signs that Trudeau is unfit to be the country’ leader. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh took the focus off of the political implications of the pictures. Instead, used the opportunity to speak about the effects of racism.
“Tonight is not about the Prime Minister. It’s about every young person mocked for the color of their skin. The child who had their turban ripped off their head.” he said in a statement.”
BREAKING: Rare photograph of Justin Trudeau not in blackface leaked to press. pic.twitter.com/my12jteaop
— Have I Got News For You (@haveigotnews) September 20, 2019
Per CBC , Trudeau’s office reached out to Singh ?— who is Indian ?— to apologize for the images and to discuss racism. According to Singh, he will only meet with Trudeau privately to ensure that the talk is not used for damage control by Trudeau’s liberal party.
“That is for Canadians to make the decision,” Singh said during an interview on CBC Radio’s The House .
Since the pictures surfaced, Trudeau and his party have been on damage control. In addition to claiming he will apologize to Singh personally, Trudeau apologized to Canadians that have “suffered discrimination and intolerance” that others have never had to endure.
Rolling Stone reports that the photos could be particularly damaging for Trudeau since he pushes a “woke” platform that celebrates diversity.