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Jimmy Fallon has apologized after footage surfaced of him in full blackface on Saturday Night Live in 2000, the Hollywood Reporter reports. The The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon host posted an apology this afternoon after angry fans called for him to be canceled because of the sketch, hosting a “Jimmy Fallon is over party” and demanding NBC fire him.
Fallon posted a statement on Twitter addressing the blackface incident, where he played Chris Rock on Regis Philbin’s (Darrell Hammond) late-night show.
“In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for this. I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”
Some fans were quick to defend Fallon after he posted his apology, arguing that the sketch was not his fault. “It’s sad that a comedian that has done nothing but give back to his community has to apologize for a skit that was written by someone else 20 years ago,” one wrote.
“Jeez man it was all meant as a joke in good humor,” another added. “He didnt do it because he thought it would be funny. A good hearted joke. People who get offended all the time usually choose to be offended. Wow this world needs more humor. He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. Give him a break.”
Not everyone on Twitter was ready to accept the comedian’s apology, though. In response to claims that the culture has changed and blackface is less accepted now than it was two decades ago, some commenters pointed out that blackface wasn’t okay when SNL aired the sketch, either. “Was racism accepted in the year 2000?” one user tweeted. “‘It was a different time?’ Ah, I forgot the start of the 21st century is known as the golden age of blackface,” another wrote.
Fallon’s blackface sketch aired during his sixth year on SNL. In the bit, Fallon (in character as Rock) says there are “not a lot of black folks” on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire because “black folks don’t want to answer questions.” He also asks Hammond, “Regis, do you think the only way to get a brother on the show is to name it, Who Wants $50 Cash and a Pair of Pumas?” Footage of the sketch has since been removed from the internet by NBC, but it still exists on YouTube. Watch the full video of Fallon playing Rock below:
