{"id":619,"date":"2018-10-25T10:24:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T14:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/?p=619"},"modified":"2021-04-19T16:01:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T20:01:05","slug":"megyn-kelly-apologizes-for-blackface-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/megyn-kelly-apologizes-for-blackface-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Megyn Kelly Apologizes for “Blackface” Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

TV host Megyn Kelly apologized<\/a> yesterday for comments she made earlier this week on her talk show about blackface.<\/p>\n

First, the offense<\/strong>: In her morning talk show, Kelly and three guests were discussing inappropriate Halloween costumes. Noting the criticism of actress Luann DeLesseps for dressing as Diana Ross for a Halloween costume party last year, Kelly questioned why it was considered racist for a person to dress up as someone from another race: \u201cBecause truly you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as a character.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reaction<\/strong>: This quickly became the trending topic on Twitter, with most users finding Kelly\u2019s comments inappropriate and offensive. Her NBC colleague Al Roker<\/a> demanded a public apology, noting that blackface carries \u201ca history going back to the 1830s minstrel shows to demean and denigrate a race. \u2026 I’m old enough to have lived through ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy,’ where you had white people in blackface playing two black characters, just magnifying the worst stereotypes about black people — and that’s what the problem is and that’s what the issue is.”<\/p>\n

The apology<\/strong>: Kelly first emailed an apology to her NBC colleagues. Then yesterday, she apologized<\/a> at the start of her daily TV show before a live audience:<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to begin with two words: I\u2019m sorry. You may have heard that yesterday we had a discussion here about political correctness and Halloween costumes.<\/p>\n

“And that conversation turned to whether it is ever okay for a person of one race to dress up as another — a black person making their face lighter or a white person making theirs darker, to make a costume complete. I defended the idea, saying that as long it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed okay. Well, I was wrong and I am sorry.”<\/p>\n

“I have never been a ‘PC’ kind of person, but I do understand the value in being sensitive to our history, particularly on race and ethnicity. This past year has been so painful for many people of color.”<\/p>\n

“The country feels so divided, and I have no wish to add to that pain and offense. I believe this is a time for more understanding, more love, more sensitivity and honor, and I want to be part of that.”<\/p>\n

Many in the audience, including people of color, stood and clapped when she finished.<\/p>\n

The analysis:<\/strong> First, what\u2019s good about this apology: I believe she is sorry about this mess. She admitted she was \u201cwrong,\u201d and she seems to understand that she contributed to the problem instead of to its solution, expressing a desire to behave differently from now on. She was emotional as she was delivering it: this was heartfelt.<\/p>\n

What’s not so good: The comment about not being \u201ca \u2018PC\u2019 kind of person\u201d is a bit jarring. I think she\u2019s trying to be honest\u2014that she\u2019s not going to say things she doesn\u2019t believe only because it\u2019s expected. But it could be interpreted to mean that she believes this whole matter is only about \u201cpolitical correctness\u201d rather than genuine offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis past year has been so painful for people of color<\/em>.\u201d I found this phrase also jarring. I expected her to say that it\u2019s been painful for all<\/em> of us as we wrestle with racial tension in the U.S. Suggesting that it\u2019s been painful for some people implies that it hasn\u2019t been painful for the rest. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what she meant \u2013 surely she too has been grieved by the police shootings of unarmed black men, the church murders in South Carolina, etc. I think she was trying to express empathy. She didn\u2019t quite do it.<\/p>\n

What could\u2019ve made it better: Good apologies are specific about the offense and the attempts to avoid it. I wish she\u2019d added a line specifically about how damaging \u201cblackface\u201d was, like repeating what Al Roker noted \u2013 that it\u2019s perpetuated the worst stereotypes about black people. I wish she had acknowledged that it all seemed okay \u201cwhen she was a kid\u201d because anyone who objected then was silenced, their criticism suppressed. She could\u2019ve expressed gratitude that people speak more freely today, even if it\u2019s to criticize her, because that\u2019s how she learns.<\/p>\n

It takes courage to make a public apology, because it’s fraught with minefields. It’s even more stressful when your job is on the line. We can all learn from Megyn Kelly’s example.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TV host Megyn Kelly apologized yesterday for comments she made earlier this week on her talk show about blackface. First, the offense: In her morning talk show, Kelly and three guests were discussing inappropriate Halloween costumes. Noting the criticism of actress Luann DeLesseps for dressing as Diana Ross for a Halloween costume party last year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":620,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619\/revisions\/620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abfifer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}