Several years ago, a close New York House election was upset in October by a surprise photo of a sitting Republican wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume.
In a photo reported in October 2006, Congressman Michael Lawler (R.N.Y.), who is white, appears in a photo dressed like pop sensation Michael Jackson and wearing bronzer to darken his face. There is. new york times. Lawler does not dispute the authenticity of the photo and has apologized to anyone he offended, but said it was not his intention to wear blackface.
“As has been well-documented, and as The Daily Beast just recently reported, I am a so-called 'superfan' of Michael Jackson, and as an outspoken supporter of him and Jackson, I have never been a fan of his biography. “My family loved Michael's music and were in awe of him as a performer and his impact on pop culture,” Lawler said in a statement. “One of my greatest memories is attending his concert at Madison Square Garden before his untimely death.
“Eighteen years ago, when I tried to imitate Michael's legendary dance moves at my college Halloween party, the ugly practice of blackening my face was the furthest thing from my mind. Let me be clear: This is not the case. Rather, my outfit is a sincere compliment and a pure homage to one of my childhood idols from my childhood when I was trying to moonwalk through my mom's kitchen. is.
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Rep. Mike Lawler, RN.Y., speaks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“I am a student of history. I apologize to anyone who was offended by the photo. All you can do is live and learn. Thank you for everyone's blessings along the way,” he said.
Mr. Lawler, 38, is an early moderate lawmaker from the Hudson Valley who is seen as a rising star in the Republican conference who is running for re-election in a suburban battleground district. The Democratic challenger in New York's 17th Congressional District is former Congressman Mondaire Jones, who is black. Jones' campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The October 2005 photo shows Congressman Michael Lawler dressed as pop star Michael Jackson, wearing bronzer to darken his face. Mr Lawlor did not dispute the authenticity of the photographs. (Published in the New York Times)
The race is one of 22 that could determine which party controls the House next year, according to Fox News power rankings.
Lawler is not the first politician to be embroiled in the recent controversy over costumes resembling blackface. Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) faced calls to resign after a photo of a man wearing Ku Klux Klan robes and blackface appeared in his medical school yearbook. Northam denied that he was in the photo, but admitted he once dressed up like Jackson for a dance contest in the 1980s and used shoe cream to darken his face.
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Lawler is running against former Congressman Mondaire Jones. (Getty Images)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also caused controversy in 2019 after a photo of him wearing blackface was leaked in 2001. In an interview after the fact, the prime minister said he could not give a clear figure on how it had turned out. He wore blackface many times.
According to the New York Times, Mr. Lawler was a sophomore at Manhattan College (now Manhattan University) when he was photographed wearing a Jackson costume in New York City. The school is a Catholic school in the Bronx, where only 3% of the student body is black.
Lawler, who was valedictorian in 2009, was well known for his love of Michael Jackson, the paper said.
In 2005, when Mr. Lawler was a high school senior, he flew from New York to California to attend Mr. Peart Jackson's criminal trial. The musician was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy at Neverland Ranch, but was ultimately acquitted.
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Michael Jackson performs “Thriller” on stage at Madison Square Garden as part of his Bad Tour in 1988. (George De Sota (ID 5073478)/Red Ferns)
Jackson's biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, details in his book how he helped bring Lawler to court. daily beast. In “Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story'', Taraborrelli writes that the boy was “so disgusted'' with the testimony against Jackson that he muttered derogatory things under his breath. “I couldn't help it,” he wrote.
Taraborrelli said Lawler was questioned by court officials and “threw him out of the courtroom.”
The photo in question was posted on Facebook and shows Lawler wearing a jacket reminiscent of the one Jackson wore in his “Thriller” music video.
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The New York Times cited a person familiar with the costumes as saying that Lawler used bronzer borrowed from a female classmate to darken her skin.
Lawler's 2022 victory was one of several for Republicans in key districts in New York state, even though the entire state is reliably blue. The 17th section includes a section through four suburban counties outside New York City: Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton and Emily Robertson contributed to this report.
