The former frontman of rock band Talking Heads regrets donning blackface in a promotional video for album 'Stop Making Sense' more than three decades ago.
- September 2, 2020
AceShowbiz - David Byrne regrets donning blackface for Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" teaser, calling the promo a "major mistake in judgement."
The rocker has taken to Twitter to apologise to fans, revealing he had forgotten all about the footage until a journalist asked him about it recently.
"In the piece I appear as a number of different characters interviewing myself, and some of the characters portrayed are people of colour," Byrne wrote on Twitter. "To watch myself in the various characters, including black and brown face, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement that showed a lack of real understanding. It's like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else – you're not, or were not, the person you thought you were."
The former Talking Heads frontman added, "We have huge blind spots about ourselves - well, I certainly do. I'd like to think I am beyond making mistakes like this, but clearly at the time I was not. Like I say at the end of our Broadway show American Utopia 'I need to change too...' and I believe I have changed since then." "One hopes that folks have the grace and understanding to allow that someone like me, anyone really, can grow and change, and that the past can be examined with honesty and accountability."
Byrne becomes the latest in a string of white celebrities who have apologised for donning black face for skits and TV shows after watching the Black Lives Matter protests around the world earlier this summer.
U.S. chat show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have released apology statements, while episodes of "Community", "30 Rock", and "Little Britain" that feature white stars playing black characters have been removed from streaming services due to heightened levels of sensitivity towards people of colour.
