As reported by The Wrap, Jimmy Kimmel has released a statement apologizing for performing in blackface in comedy sketches several times over the course of his career, saying that the sketches are “embarrassing” to look back at now while also trying to explain why he didn’t think of them as being offensive at the time. It mostly goes back to an impression of NBA player Karl Malone that Kimmel started doing on the radio in the ‘90s, which he continued to do when he got TV gigs—which involved using makeup to make Kimmel actually resemble Malone, who is Black. Kimmel also played other Black people in sketches for The Man Show, and in his statement he explains that he always “thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more.”
However, the majority of Kimmel’s statement—which you can read below—is about how right-wing critics are trying to “feign outrage” and use these blackface clips to stop him from speaking out against “their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.” He says that he has “evolved and matured over the last 20-plus years,” which he thinks should be clear to anyone who watches his show, so he won’t be “bullied into silence.” This all comes just as Kimmel is starting on a three-month break from Jimmy Kimmel Live! over the summer, which he says in the statement was already planned before this controversy came up.
Just yesterday, Tina Fey announced that she’s asking NBCUniversal to pull several episodes of 30 Rock from streaming platforms and digital download services because of blackface, and Jimmy Fallon apologized for wearing blackface in an old SNL sketch back in May.
I have long been reluctant to address this, as I knew doing so would be celebrated as a victory by those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us. That delay was a mistake. There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.