Eau.

The photo (above) depicts [Canadian prime Minister] Trudeau at an “Arabian Nights”-themed gala event, clad in an elaborate turban and robe, his face, hands and neck covered in dark makeup – a breathtaking contradiction to the prime minister’s carefully cultivated image as a standard-bearer for Canadian diversity.

“It was a dumb thing to do,” he said during an emergency news conference on board the Liberal campaign plane before taking off for Winnipeg.

“I’m disappointed in myself, I’m pissed off at myself for having done it. I wish I hadn’t done it, but I did it, and I apologize for it.”

Asked whether it was the only instance of its kind, Trudeau admitted that during a high school talent show (top), he wore makeup while performing a version of Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat Song (Day-O),” although he didn’t explicitly say the makeup was dark.

Yearbook photos make international headlines (Toronto Sun)

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46 thoughts on “This Justin

    1. theo kretschmar schuldorff

      To his credit, the blackface make up is very well applied. You’d catch many a black fella going around not nearly as well done.

      1. Batty Brennan

        His wearing of what appears to be a Sikh turban for an “Arabian Nights” themed event tends to negate that credit factor somewhat.

    2. :-Joe

      So, by “left” you clearly mean somewhere between centre-right neo-liberal populism and right wing facist extremism from a generalised caucasian, english speaking, colonnial settler, western world view.

      A view through the prism of faulty logic, corporate double-speak and the corruption of political science, idealogy, terminology and ultimately the west, it’s notion of a globalised world and the planet as a whole.

      Ah, ok. It’s good to know where we stand, I’ll keep that in mind.

      :-J

  1. Col

    ” a breathtaking contradiction to the prime minister’s carefully cultivated image as a standard-bearer for Canadian diversity.”

    I’m not sure I get this part. Dark makeup may be in bad taste (questionable) but is it anti-diversity?

  2. Spaghetti Hoop

    This is ridiculous. Wearing make-up to create your dark-skinned character for a themed party is not a display of racism. Grow up everyone.

    1. Cormac Kinsella

      Agreed. While I loathe the dipspoo so what? It’s now a crime to wear certain colours of face paint?

      1. postmanpat

        Yeah its just “jokes” that’s what racist always say. “Day-O” in blackface is as absurdly racist as you can get. Canucks man! talk about a false sense of moral superiority. Those people had a eugenics program back in the day that secretly serialised ‘dumb’ people. They are one of the would biggest deforestatiors and fracking polluters. Yet they give the impression they are the bastion of liberal progressives in the new world.

        1. Swingerguy

          Please don’t confuse Trudeau’s values as being indicative of most Canadian’s. Most of us did not grow up rich with a trust fund.
          Also, there are laws in Canada that require replanting any forests that are harvested, ensuring sustainable practices in the forestry industry.
          We also have the most environmentally friendly energy industry in the world. Every site in Canada must be reclaimed back to nature when finished with. This includes the oil sands that anti energy progressives like to demonize. When people are ready to forgo the benefits of the energy industries and not burn any carbon based fuels to heat or cool their homes, then they can have the moral high ground to preach down on us lowly humans.

    2. Listrade

      Nah, it is. Being of a particular generation we/I may not have been sensitive to it back i’th day, but it’s pretty racist in hindsight. Spike Milligan “browning” up as an Indian employee and saying “Goodness gracious me” at the end of every line? Yeah that’s racist.

      And this isn’t any different. It’s not like there aren’t a million and one potential ideas for a fancy dress party without adopting a racial stereotype. And then what’s the purpose of dressing up like that? To raise awareness of different cultures? Representation? Nah, it’s for the lols. Look at me! I’m an Arab! Ha f*ckin ha.

      Whatever, we didn’t think about it that much at the time. Just like we didn’t mind our marmalade coming with an overtly racist character or repeats of the Black and White Minstrel Show or anything that in hindsight was embarrassingly and egregiously racist that we accepted as ok in our youth. You know, it was hard to be sensitive to other cultures when my exposure was only to my own culture. Curry chips was as foreign as it got before Delia told us about Spaghetti Bolognese. But that’s only an excuse for then, not now. Now we are exposed to more cultures and every one of them is pretty clear that they really don’t like this. So let’s go for a different costume that doesn’t involve stereotyping a culture or race for the lols? I mean, it’s not that big an ask.

      I think the criticism here is fair enough, he does display his “wokeness” openly and it’s not as if he wasn’t aware that the picture existed. Given how every politician’s yearbook photo’s have been gone through to find examples of this, it might have been better for him to openly admit to having done it in the past rather than let it be discovered. If, when the last round of outrage happened with the last politician, he’d have said mentioned that he’d done it, that he was sorry, that he’s learned, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad…maybe. But to say that you don’t see any problem with it, well that’s pretty ignorant at this stage.
      .

      1. Jeffrey

        Adopting a racial stereotype is not being racist. with comments like this its no wonder we get this PC crap all over. You are confusing being offended and hate speech/display here.

        1. Jeffrey

          Also, this was Aladdin, a fictitious character. And when you are at it, whats with all this cosplayers , eh? Ha fcking Ha. Moron.

    3. scundered

      Although it was supposed to be Aladdin, who isn’t even black.

      However, can you imagine the reaction if Trump had done it?

    1. Batty Brennan

      It was just plain white vanilla ice cream on a stick. Ironic?

      My sister had a golliwog doll. There were golliwog coupons on jamjar labels – I think you were supposed to cut them out and save them up to get a real golliwog in the post.

      http://www.golliwogg.co.uk/

  3. Clampers Outside

    White Chicks the movie should be banned! Those Wayans are soooooo racist!

    Am I doing it right?

    This is sarcasm, for those with a whooosh over head. It may not be particularly witty sarcasm but it’s sarcasm none the less.

    Trudeau is the ultimate virtue signalling hypocrite.

    The black face may be old news but his trip to India last year and his multitude of traditional Indian outfits were not received well in India.
    And as far as I can see, demonstrate he is still a gobpoo, just like he was when in blackface.
    The sooner Canada gets rid of him the better for them.

    1. Listrade

      No, but you should be aware that there actually is cringe at White Chicks. And not just because it was crap, but because of the whole White Chicks thing. in the same way there’s cringe over Soul Man. I mean, it’s pretty widly accepted as not being ok. Neither are banned because we don’t ban stuff, we accept we’ve progressed and leave them to gather dust. So it’s better to pick examples of hypocrisy where even a simple bit of knowledge would reveal that there is no hypocrisy, only consistency.

      1. Clampers Outside

        I hear ya and agree.
        But, to believe “we don’t ban stuff” were true? Far from it.
        So called “progressives” have been getting art pieces hidden, statues removed, and so on… for quite some time now.
        The mask of progressivism is only that, a mask, and behind it is a new puritanism/authoritarianism.

        1. Listrade

          That’s a whole mishmash of different issues. Go and put a statue of Oliver Cromwell up and see how you get on, it’s not like people are protesting in Florence to get Michaelangelo’s David demolished, it’s statues of figures who were clearly on the wrong side of history at best. So let’s not muddy the waters with that one.

          It doesn’t matter though, you have your mind made up. Progressives = bad, people who like the old days when you could be casual with your racism and still think of yourself as one of the good guys = good.

    2. scundered

      Glad it exposed him as the virtue signalling fake that he is, the pic was from 2001 apparently, so really not that old

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