Jimmy Fallon found himself at the center of controversy last night, after a blackface sketch he did on Saturday Night Live in 2000 resurfaced online.
In the sketch, Jimmy wore blackface to impersonate Chris Rock on Regis Philbin's talk show. The sketch was uncovered and posted to Twitter last night, where it quickly went viral — along with the hashtag #JimmyFallonIsOverParty.
Well, Jimmy just released a statement on Twitter in response to the controversy, and apologized for his "terrible decision" to do blackface.
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.
"In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface," Fallon wrote to his nearly 52 million followers. "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," he added.
#jimmyfallonisoverparty if ur trying to see what he did
Fallon's statement has been met with mixed reactions online. Some felt like his apology was sufficient:
@jimmyfallon An example of the classiest way to respond to these scenarios!
@jimmyfallon As a black woman, damn. 20 years ago and this is what people want to discuss? A man was just suffocated by the police. A woman made a false 911 call about another man. An orange buffoon squats in the WH. Let’s get our priorities together. This is a non-issue.
Others felt like Fallon's statement was a step in the right direction, but acknowledged the need to "not just [move] on, but [use] it as a chance to teach others":
@jimmyfallon I'm gonna say this, it wasn't cool. Even back then it wasn't cool. What is important is growth. Owning up to the mistakes, learning from them, and not just moving on but using it as a chance to teach others. We love you, but you're right. There is no excuse.
Some felt like his apology should have been more direct in terms of outlining what, specifically, is so damaging about blackface:
@jimmyfallon Say why it was terrible. Say what it does when we don't say how terrible it is. Say why we thought it was "okay" at that time and why we know it's not. You've got the platform to show how an apology can be better and move things forward. Lead! You can do it! :)
And a few Twitter users pointed out how many of the people rushing to forgive or defend Jimmy's actions in the comments are white:
@jimmyfallon if you’re white you are not allowed to forgive/dismiss this, it’s not up to you, you’re opinion on the matter is irrelevant. it’s up to individuals in the black community to decide personally whether they forgive the offense or not because THEY were racially discriminated against
@jimmyfallon I love how all the people in the comments letting Fallon know it’s okay are White. And I wasn’t a fan of Tropic Thunder either, the movie made me feel uncomfortable AF.