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