A few pictures, taken 18 years ago, of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has landed him in hot soup. Three pictures of Trudeau surfaced online where he wore Brownface in 2001 at an Arabian Nights-themed party while he taught at a private school. Trudeau, not the Prime Minister of Canada then, is wearing a turban and his face neck and hands are completely darkened.
Trudeau looks unrecognizable in these pictures and has received a considerable amount of ‘blacklash.’ The controversy has also hit Trudeau’s progressive politics.
People of different races have raised their voices in dissent over Trudeau’s old pictures, though he has apologized several times since the pictures came out and sparked a row of him being a racist. Trudeau said, “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better and I didn’t. I’m really sorry.”
Trudeau said, “I didn’t consider it racist at the time, but now we know better.” At a time when Canada is to go to polls next month and the liberal party looks forward to securing government in what is expected to be a tight contest, this episode has come to Trudeau as a tragedy. Leaders in opposition have started questioning ‘the real Trudeau’ after this incident.
The irony is, Trudeau is seen dressed as Aladdin. One thing that can be said about this is that if a genie appears before him, Trudeau would definitely ask him to undo what he did 18 years ago, so that it doesn’t distort his image and poll results in the end.