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Jimmy Fallon has apologised after a video of him wearing blackface on Saturday Night Live in 2000 resurfaced earlier this week.
The Tonight Show host issued the statement yesterday (May 26) following the backlash which greeted the clip, which saw him impersonating the comedian Chris Rock while in blackface for a sketch on the long-running comedy series.
Fallon wrote in his statement on Twitter that the 2000 SNL sketch saw him make “a terrible decision” to wear blackface, adding that “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. 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.
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) May 26, 2020
The clip, which has periodically resurfaced on social media before, prompted the hashtag #JimmyFallonisoverparty, which subsequently began trending on Twitter yesterday (May 26).
Fallon has also faced calls to quit his position as the host of The Tonight Show, which he has fronted since 2014. He was previously the host of Late Night between 2009 and 2014.
Fallon was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for 120 episodes between 1998 and 2004.
Back in August 2019, comedian Sarah Silverman said she was once fired from starring in a movie after the producers found a photo of her wearing blackface during a 2007 episode of The Sarah Silverman Show.
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