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Jimmy Fallon apologizes for wearing blackface in resurfaced ‘SNL’ clip

Jimmy Fallon poses at the opening night of the new Matthew Lopez play 'The Inheritance' on Broadway at The Barrymore Theatre on Nov. 17, 2019 in New York City. Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Jimmy Fallon has apologized for a resurfaced clip of his impression of Chris Rock in a Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketch from 20 years ago in which he appeared in blackface.

The late-night host took to Twitter to issue his apology after he received backlash on social media for the clip that aired in 2000 and recently resurfaced on social media.

Click to play video: 'Trudeau asked about blackface by kids on ‘New Mom, Who Dis?’'
Trudeau asked about blackface by kids on ‘New Mom, Who Dis?’

“In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this,” Fallon wrote.

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“I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”

The hashtag #jimmyfallonisoverparty began trending early Tuesday with social media users calling out Fallon for the skit, which also featured SNL actor Darrell Hammond.

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The SNL sketch features Fallon doing an impersonation while wearing full blackface and attending a talk show as Rock, a former SNL cast member who appeared on the show from 1990 to 1993.

The clip resurfaced on Monday night when a Twitter user shared a video of the SNL clip and said: “NBC fired Megyn Kelly for mentioning blackface. Jimmy Fallon performed on NBC in blackface.”

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Click to play video: 'Megyn Kelly questions why dressing up in blackface for Halloween costume is wrong'
Megyn Kelly questions why dressing up in blackface for Halloween costume is wrong

In October 2018, Kelly suggested that it was OK for white people to wear blackface on Halloween. NBC publicly condemned Kelly for the controversy and cancelled her show, Megyn Kelly Today.

https://twitter.com/chefboyohdear/status/1265147631497547777

Many people joined the #jimmyfallonisoverparty on social media and shared their own thoughts.

https://twitter.com/BabyPinkNichole/status/1265560870219927552

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https://twitter.com/repromantics/status/1265178222624305153

https://twitter.com/MissAmericHANA/status/1265161311870005248

https://twitter.com/kuhjawlicka/status/1265155379945598976

Fallon was a cast member on SNL from 1998 to 2004.

Rock has not addressed the resurfaced clip as of this writing.

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