Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 20 September 2019
Brownface, blackface photos cause scandal for Trudeau

By ROB GILLIES that he was dressed as a
Associated Press character from "Aladdin."
TORONTO (AP) — Prime The prime minister said it
Minister Justin Trudeau's was not the first time he
campaign moved to con- darkened his face. He said
tain a growing scandal he once did it while per-
Thursday after a yearbook forming a version of Harry
photo surfaced of him in Belafonte's "Banana Boat
brownface at a 2001 cos- Song (Day-O)" during a tal-
tume party and two other ent show.
similar incidents also came "I should have known better
to light. then, but I didn't, and I am
With the election a month deeply sorry for it," Trudeau
away, he apologized and said. "I'm going to ask Ca-
begged Canadians to for- nadians to forgive me for
give him. what I did. I shouldn't have
Time magazine published done that. I take responsi-
the photo on Wednesday, bility for it. It was a dumb
saying it was taken from thing to do."
the yearbook from the Global News also report-
West Point Grey Academy, ed on a third instance,
a private school in British broadcasting a brief video
Columbia where Trudeau of Trudeau in blackface
worked as a teacher be- while raising his hands in
fore entering politics. It Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau makes a statement in regards to the air and sticking out his
a photo coming to light of himself from 2001, wearing "brownface," during a scrum on his cam-
shows the then-29-year-old paign plane in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. tongue. A spokeswoman
Trudeau in a turban and Associated Press for Trudeau's Liberal Party
robe with dark makeup on said the footage was from
his hands, face and neck. politicians to get in trouble He denied being in the pic- Gov. Kay Ivey has apolo- the early 1990s. The Cana-
Trudeau, who launched his over racially offensive pho- ture but admitted wearing gized donning blackface dian TV network said it was
re-election campaign a tos and actions from their blackface as a young man during a college skit more not clear where the tape
week ago, said he should younger days. while portraying Michael than 50 years ago. None was made.
have known better. Earlier this year, Virginia Jackson at a dance party has resigned. The furor could spell more
"I'm pissed off at myself. I'm Gov. Ralph Northam faced in the 1980s. Since then, The photo of Trudeau was trouble for Trudeau, who
disappointed in myself," he intense pressure to resign Virginia Attorney General taken at the school's an- polls say is facing a seri-
told reporters on his cam- after a racist picture sur- Mark Herring has acknowl- nual dinner, which had an ous challenge Oct. 21 from
paign plane. faced from his 1984 medi- edged wearing blackface "Arabian Nights" theme that Conservative leader An-
He is the latest in a string of cal school yearbook page. in college, and Alabama year, Trudeau said, adding drew Scheer.q
Belgian fighter jet crashes in France,

pilot hits power line

was hurt. Belgian officials
said the 36-year-old plane,
which was not carrying
weapons, suffered unspec-
ified engine trouble.
Emergency workers ex-
tracted the stuck pilot safe-
ly after cutting off power in
the area, and he was tak-
en to a nearby hospital for
medical checks, a spokes-
man for the regional ad-
ministration told The Associ-
ated Press. The other pilot
landed without incident.
Surrounding homes were
evacuated as the airman
A gendarme helicopter takes off near the site of a jet crash near
Pluvigner, western France, Thursday, Sept.19, 2019. was being taken down
Associated Press and firefighters battled the
blaze from the crash.
By ANGELA CHARLTON gling by his parachute from The pilots flagged an "en-
Associated Press a high-voltage electricity gine technical incident"
PARIS (AP) — A Belgian line for two hours, French while flying from Florennes
F-16 fighter jet crashed in authorities said. air base in Belgium to the
western France Thursday, But neither of the pilots, military airport in the French
damaging a house, setting both who were able to city of Lorient, the Belgian
a field ablaze and leaving eject before impact, nor Defense Ministry said in a
one of the two pilots dan- anybody on the ground statement.q