Republican Calls His Blackface Costume the 'Sincerest Form of Flattery'

Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, responded to a Thursday report that he once wore blackface as part of a Halloween costume by saying the costume was meant to be "truly the sincerest form of flattery."

The New York Times reported it had obtained photographs of Lawler taken around October 2006 that show him wearing blackface while dressed as Michael Jackson for a college Halloween gathering.

In a statement to the Times, Lawler did not deny the photos' authenticity and said the costume was worn to be the "truly the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to my musical hero since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my mom's kitchen."

"The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind," Lawler said, per The New York Times. "Let me be clear, this is not that."

Lawler is currently running for reelection. His Democratic opponent, Mondaire Jones, is a Black former congressman.

"I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry," Lawler added in his statement to the Times. "All you can do is live and learn."

Lawler is not the first politician to come under scrutiny for allegedly wearing blackface in the past.

In 2019, former Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam faced backlash over a yearbook photo surfaced, showing a man in a Ku Klux Klan outfit and another person wearing blackface. Northam issued an apology shortly for the photo, but then later denied that he was involved in it.

"I realize that many people will find this difficult to believe. Last night I finally had a chance to sit down and look at the photograph in detail," Northam told reporters in 2019. "I am not the person in that photo. I have had friends look at it and tell me that it's not me."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also faced a blackface scandal in 2019 when a photo from 2001 surfaced online. Time magazine reported that the photo, which was from an "Arabian Nights" theme party in 2001, showed Trudeau in blackface while wearing a turban.

"Darkening your face, regardless of the context or the circumstances, is always unacceptable because of the racist history of black face," the Canadian Prime Minister said in 2019 following the criticism he faced for the photograph. "I should have understood that then and I never should have done it."

According to The New York Times, the photos of Lawler were posted on social media and shared with the publication last week. A reporter for the newspaper was able to authenticate the photos from those who attended Manhattan College at the time they were taken.

Update 10/03/24 5:25 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.