Jimmy Fallon came under fire on Tuesday after a Saturday Night Live spoof including him in blackface resurfaced online.
The sketch, which initially aired in 2000, revealed The Tonight Show host using blackface while impersonating Chris Rock. He acted along with Darrell Hammond, who was playing Regis Philbin.
The video of the spoof spread throughout the web and the hashtag #JimmyFallonIsOverParty began trending on Twitter. “He literally did blackface. He deserves to be cancelled,” one commenter tweeted.
“Disgusting #JimmyFallonIsOverParty,” included another. “I’m sorry however this is my very first time ever seeing this [and] this is making my heart hurt,” composed a 3rd. “I can’t [right now].”
Other commenters asked Fallon to say sorry.
“No one is asking y’all to cancel @jimmyfallon,” one Twitter user composed. “However, what we are asking from Jimmy is an acknowledgment to his use of Blackface, why did he do it and an apology to Black people for donning such a racist, oppressive and downright disgusting overt display of symbolic racism.”
Fallon, who appeared on SNL in the late ’90s and early 2000s, required to Twitter to openly say sorry.
“In 2000, while on SNL, I made a horrible choice to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no reason for this,” he composed. “I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”
The clip, which seemed very first shared by the Twitter account @chefboyohdear, likewise advised individuals of Megyn Kelly‘s end at NBC.
“NBC fired [Megyn] Kelly for pointing out blackface,” @chefboyohdear’s tweet read. “Jimmy Fallon performed on NBC in blackface.”
As audiences will remember, Megyn Kelly Today was canceled in 2018 after the anchor held a panel conversation in which she questioned why it was unsuitable for white individuals to use blackface on Halloween. Kelly later on said sorry for her remarks and reached an exit contract with NBC in 2019.
E! News connected to both Fallon’s and SNL‘s representatives for remark.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal household.)
