Jimmy Kimmel's blackface apology was pretty weak: He was defensive after waiting to be called out

Los Angeles Times

When Jimmy Fallon apologized a month ago for using blackface on SNL, he made it clear that "there is no excuse for this." Kimmel, on the other hand, delivered a very defensive apology on Tuesday that was directed at one group: “those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.” "Clearly," says Mary McNamara, "Kimmel believes much of the criticism comes from people motivated not so much by their outrage over blackface as by their desire to undercut his continued condemnation of the Trump administration and positions taken by the far right. He is not wrong about that — conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr., have recently pointed to Kimmel as the epitome of the double standard that decries racism, including past use of blackface, by Republicans but gives liberals, like Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a pass. But for Kimmel to express frustration 'that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices' doesn’t help his case. At all. If you’re going to apologize for using blackface, apologize for using blackface. Don’t call it a 'thoughtless moment' because, dude, you wrote the sketches, you rehearsed the sketches and you sat in the chair while someone put brown makeup all over you more than once." McNamara adds that Kimmel, Fallon, Tina Fey and "other white entertainers who have used blackface as entertainment say that racist mockery was not their intent but, frankly, that’s as tough a sell as 'My Confederate flag only represents my regional pride.' Blackface isn’t funny. Not only because it can never overcome its origins but also because it just isn’t humorous." What is perplexing is why Kimmel even waited to be called out for his use of blackface that has been brought up before. "It would be more helpful if, instead of assuming the defensive posture, he had gotten in front of the story and taken a few minutes to explain, honestly, what he was thinking when he decided to use a comedy 'technique' that had been roundly denounced for years," says McNamara. "Maybe, instead of worrying about whether his apology would be taken for 'weakness,' he could have had a public discussion with the subjects of his impersonations. I mean that seriously. Apologies are good; conversations that actually move cultural understanding and antiracism forward are better."

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• Wayne Brady defends Jimmy Kimmel, saying "cancel culture is real because of the power of social media is real": "Someone like Jimmy Kimmel, I've watched him as a fan and I've been on his show a couple times," Brady tells ET. "He has grown. People should be allowed the place to grow. If I said something stupid when I was 15, am I the same guy at 20? Am I the same guy at 25? Am I the same guy at 30?...I've learned we should be allowed to learn and grow. The thing with being on TV and being a film star, being a news person or a politician, is your time to grow is when you're in the public eye. You have no control over what the zeitgeist thinks, so it's a rough place to be. I think it also holds people accountable. It holds comedy accountable."