Jamie Foxx defends Jimmy Fallon over 'SNL' blackface controversy
May 29, 2020
Washington D.C. [USA], May 29 : American actor Jamie Foxx defended Jimmy Fallon after the 'Tonight Show' host apologised for wearing blackface during a 2000 episode of 'Saturday Night Live.'
According to Fox News, the 45-year-old actor, Fallon responded to the controversy after a sketch from 2000 in which he appeared in blackface to perform an impression of Chris Rock resurfaced on Twitter. Things got so bad that the hashtag '#JimmyFallonIsOverParty' was briefly trending on the social media platform.
However, Foxx disagreed with the host's decision to apologise for the sketch. He responded in the comments of an E! News Instagram post on the matter to defend Fallon and comedians at large for pushing racial boundaries.
The 'Django Unchained' star wrote, "He was doing an impression of chris rock. It wasn't black face. We comedians I know it's a tough time right now. But this one is a stretch. On a show called in living colour we played every race Let this one go. We got bigger fish to fry ... #changecourse."
He was referencing the 1990 sketch show, 'In Living Colour,' which ran for five seasons and often contained controversial sketches about race.
Meanwhile, Fallon seemed to welcome the negative attention as a learning opportunity.
In his response Tuesday, the late-night host seemed to thank the public for holding him accountable for his past actions.
Fallon tweeted, "In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. 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."
