Jimmy Fallon Criticized After Controversial Blackface Footage Resurfaces
Jimmy Fallon has been "canceled" on Twitter after some users discovered a video of him wearing blackface in 2000.
The Tonight Show host went viral overnight with the hashtag #jimmyfallonisoverparty trending after a 20-year-old Saturday Night Live clip of him wearing blackface resurfaced online.
In it, the comedian can be seen doing a full impersonation of Chris Rock on Regis Philbin’s (played by Darrell Hammond) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The controversial footage is captioned, "NBC fired Megyn Kelly over mentioning blackface. Jimmy Fallon performed on NBC in blackface," leading many to question why Kelly lost her job on the Today show and Fallon got to keep his late-night gig.
See more reactions, below:
Though many users called Fallon's SNL skit racist and insensitive, others called out the hypocrisy, pointing out that so many other celebrities have worn blackface in the past and were never "canceled." Some of them include Robert Downey Jr., Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller and more.
On Tuesday (May 26), Fallon responded to the outcry on Twitter and apologized.
"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," he tweeted.