New York congressman Mike Lawler (R) says photos of him dressed as Michael Jackson shouldn't be construed as blackface.
The New York Times reported Thursday (October 3) that Lawler previously wore a blackface Jackson costume during a campus Halloween party at Manhattan University in 2006. Photos showed Lawler donning a black shirt, a red jacket, and visibly darkened skin.
Lawler, who is running for re-election in New York’s 17th District against Mondaire Jones, denied he was wearing blackface in the photos, saying Thursday the "ugly practice" was "the furthest thing from my mind."
“Let me be clear, this is not that," Lawler told the Times of his blackface photo.
The congressman later told CNN that he had “used a friend’s bronzer,” and that “this was really not what I think could truly be construed as blackface, but I certainly understand why people would be offended by it, and for that, I’m sorry.”
Lawler said his 2006 costume was “a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom's kitchen.”
Chris Russell, Lawler's campaign spokesperson, previously confirmed that the congressman is a Jackson fan. The Republican lawmaker has also been touted as a Jackson "expert" by a biographer of the singer.
“It’s true that Congressman Lawler—who is known to have performed the Moonwalk once or twice—is a fan of Michael Jackson’s music and even attended one of his last concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2001,” Russell told the Daily Beast last year.
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