Face of Nation : Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will field media questions this afternoon following the emergence of photos and videos showing the Liberal leader in racist makeup.
On Wednesday, Time Magazine dropped a bombshell story featuring a 2001 photo of Trudeau in brownface and a turban, taken at a gala at a private school where Trudeau taught 18 years ago.
When asked Wednesday night, Trudeau also admitted to a second instance of racist behaviour. “When I was in high school I dressed up at a talent show and sang Day-O with makeup on,” he said.
It’s not clear where the video was taken. It appears to show Trudeau with his face and arms covered in black makeup, raising his hands in the air while laughing and sticking out his tongue. “We can confirm that it is him and it’s from the early 1990s,” said a Liberal Party spokesperson in a statement.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer later confirmed the video had been sent to his team originally, which then passed it on to Global for “verification.”
After Trudeau kept a low profile all morning, the Liberal Party announced that he will address the media at 2:15 p.m. ET in Winnipeg before flying to Saskatoon.
The photos have disrupted the Liberals’ campaign plans. Until now, Trudeau has had morning events on every day of the federal election campaign. For the first time during the campaign, Trudeau and his team stayed at a different hotel than members of the media Wednesday night.
Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane Wednesday night in Nova Scotia, Trudeau apologized for his actions, saying he now recognizes they were racist.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry,” he said. “I take responsibility for my decision to do that. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have known better. “It was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do and I am deeply sorry.”
