Jimmy Kimmel's public apology
Late night U.S. talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel has released a public apology in a statement to E! News.
It's after videos of him in blackface recently re-emerged online.
Ji.#BLM #BlackFaceKimmel pic.twitter.com/q1thT4LLCw
— A Son of God (@mesonofgod) June 20, 2020
The host began by explaining why it's taken him so long to speak out.
He said he knew his apology, 'would be celebrated as a victory,' by those who see apologies as a weakness.
Jimmy claimed that some people see it as a, 'cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us.'
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'That delay was a mistake,' the comedian admitted.
The 52-year-old wrote how truly sorry he is to those, 'who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup [he] wore or the words [he] spoke.'
Recalling his sketches, Jimmy said, 'On KROQ radio in the mid-90s, I did a recurring impression of the NBA player Karl Malone.'
'In the late 90s, I continued impersonating Malone on TV. We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible.'
Jimmy insisted he never considered this as anything other than an imitation, 'of a fellow human being.'
'One that had no more to do with Karl's skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head.'
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'Dozens of impressions...'
Jimmy confessed to having taken part in, 'dozens of impressions of famous people.'
He named Snoop Dogg, Oprah, Eminem, Dick Vitale, Rosie and many more among those he impersonated.
'In each case, I thought of them as impersonations of celebrities and nothing more,' he wrote.
Jimmy admitted he finds these sketches, 'embarrassing,' as he looks back on them.
However, he can't help but feel frustrated by those using these sketches as a weapon, 'to diminish [his] criticism of social and other injustices.'
The talk show host hopes his followers believe he has, 'evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years.'
He began to wrap up, 'I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me.'
'I love this country too much to allow that.'
Jimmy's adamant he, 'won't be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas.'
In the meantime, Jimmy is taking the summer off as host of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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