Canadian Prime Minister - Busted for Black/Brown Face

Our weakling PM has now been outed for a brownface dress up 18 years ago....while in his job as a teacher at a private school. And he is groping a 'close friend' of his at the same time.

He who apologizes for everything now gets to apologize for himself. As a long time Conservative party supporter I admit that this makes me laugh, especially given his long history of pedantic lectures on related topics. Hopefully good riddance in a few weeks at election time.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-brownface-arabian-nights-1.5289165

@SUD123456:

Justin Trudeau is a hypocrite.

Awful! No doubt...

But anyone that does it on the right? "Oh stop being so PC!"

Fair enough as there is hypocrisy everywhere.

But this is extra special sauce as this guy pretends to be the poster child sjw so it makes it especially damning.

Also this just in....he has just admitted a second incident.

Honestly I don't care any more. Left or right, I'm just done being shocked, surprised, or otherwise upset that these people act like humans.

I used to have a higher standard for politicians and so forth, which is why I was constantly unpleasantly surprised, but not any more.

If people want to hold this against him, whatever, they're probably bigger hypocrites than he is.

Man, he must’ve been nervous every day about this coming out. He panders to the middle eastern community relentlessly probably anticipating this would come to light.

I want to vote PPC as I agree with their platforms, but I’m voting PC just to ensure Trudeau is gone. The PPC just don’t have the numbers...yet.

Absolutely makes him a hypocrite. What people don't understand is that there are others in his party that can support the same policies but don't have baggage. Maybe we need to rely less on name recognition, which let's be honest, is what put wind in his sails.

Does Canada have a history of racism towards Arabic people by dressing up like this, or are they just offended by this stuff with no context?

This isn’t going to matter in the election but he should resign and the LPC should choose a new leader.

So? I'm sure we all have done something we are not proud of. I can't wait to apologize for something I've done nearly 20 years ago.

Oh Justin, say it ain't so.

Sure, a party is made of a bunch of people. But bear in mind that Canada is run in the British parliamentary manner which makes the PM effectively a dictator with an iron grip on his/her party and cabinet.

And of course he won his party leadership strictly on name and the fact that they had a small parade of loser/ineffective leaders just prior to him is what created the circumstance that had party leaders beg him to run for the leadership in the first place.

@vl4d_l3nin: Naw, just the Left looking for something new to be offended by.

Reminds me of that scene in The Master of Disguise. Came out around the same time that this occurred too. Lol.

No. First on our list of racism has been towards our own aboriginal/indigenous peoples. However, Canada has also prided itself on its general tolerance and in particular its involvement in the underground railroad.

The context of this is people in Canada are appalled by the degree of racism/problems in the US and no one wants to be like that.

Thought as much.

I've never really liked how America is the cultural zeitgeist of the western world. Blackface is racist in America because it has a history of it. If that isn't the case in Canada, then Trudeau did nothing wrong.

You aren't the PM and your entire image isn't based upon social justice advocacy which has had you apologize for every lousy thing the Federal gov't has done in the past 150 years.

Therein lies the difference.

Honestly, I'm not very knowledgeably on Canadian election systems. What are the alternative, in his party, or the opposition? Which is preferable?

Oh, bs. The heavy bashing is coming as much from the right as from the left.

Moreover I am in my late 50s and even when I grew up as a kid we knew it was not acceptable to black/brown/yellow face on Halloween or any other time, just like it wasn't acceptable to wear Nazi uniforms.

You are far too America centric. There is a whole world out there that you should explore from a values basis, which is linked with both British and French history, and which informed your founders in the first place.

This is also true of many bad things. I mean it's not like the British, French, Dutch etc. were complicit in the slave trade and also wiped out many indigenous populations....oh wait, yes they did. Just like much of the Caribbean is populated with descendants of their slaves.

So one doesn't need to be an American to understand how bad this type of dress up is, since the exact same issues have played out in many geographies. Similarly, one would think a member of the British royal family shouldn't dress up as a Nazi and yet he did.

So because the guy changed his opinions over the past 18 years, it's somehow makes him a hypocrite? How does that work?

@SUD123456: I think other western countries should defy America's cultural dominance. I understand Canada has basically no cultural/national identity, but I don't understand why they would want to shoulder the shame of something like blackface.

Here is Trudeau's words on why this was "offensive"

"I think it's well known that communities and people that live with intersectionalities and face discrimination the likes of which I have never personally had to experience is a significant thing that is very hurtful and that is why I am so deeply disappointed in myself,"

I've had two Canadians in this thread, including yourself, tell me that Canada has no history of racism towards Arabic people by dressing up like them. So what the hell is he talking about here?

I'm more uncomfortable with where his hands are on that young woman than I am the brown makeup. If I had a teacher put a hand on my kid like that, I'd make sure he'd never be PM.

There is a difference between wearing a costume of someone from another race, and wearing "blackface" or "brownface"

A white kid can't be Mr T for Halloween?

I agree somewhat, this is less people being outraged and more political ammunition, where there salivating. And your obvious cancel culture where a collective set of dumb-bells get to feel important.

That was 18 years ago, people are not virtuous paragons all there life's, we can and do, do some supremely dumb embarrassing shit.

If he has any sense he'll look back at that and cringe deeply.

Hell, we're all screwed. Mr.T was a cool Halloween costume during the A team years that many of us engaged in.

Stop being so American centric. We aren't shouldering the shame of blackface for America. We don't have to commit murder to know murder is bad. We don't have to grope women to know that is bad. We don't have to dress up in blackface to know that is bad.

And we sure as hell are going to trash our PM who's entire image is that of social justice warrior and who apologizes every second day for everything bad the Federal gov't has ever done.

That picture is of a 29 year old man. He was a teacher at the time. The picture is at the school. He is groping a 'close friend' he says.

And unless you have never been off the farm, you should know exactly what he is talking about in his comments. These problems exist everywhere to some degree and we have them too. But we don't want to devolve into the cesspool that America is. Finally, there is nothing about your culture in general that appeals to us....but we do enjoy mocking it.

Of course they can dress up as Mr. T. But why does that costume need to include blackface makeup? Will they not know who the kid is unless he paints his face to look like a minstrel show performer?

"snowflake-culture" wins again.

It´s absolutely ludicrous that Troudeau has been accused of all kinds of shit because he did something 18 years ago and went to an Alladin party dressed in a costume.

I am by no means a fan of the PM but this just proves why Trump won and why he may win again, the PC culture is ruining the western world society.

He might have learned something over the last 18 years.

He did this a few months before 9/11 happened, not being after 9/11 might help, dammit all! I say this not because Muslims wear turbans, but from all the hate Sikhs received post 9/11.

I'm not even White, I never ever gave a damn about blackface. Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder is one of my favorite characters in a movie and thought it was funny as hell. (Assuming you catch my drift)

He might have. He also might have learned something over the past 24 hrs, but apparently not since a third incident has just been reported with video. And yesterday in his apology he regretted 2 incidents and when asked if there were more he implied no. So apparently he is a slow learner.

Importantly, he wouldn't be taking as much flak except for the fact that he campaigns on his social justice credentials. This is the most important thing to bear in mind. His persona is completely tied up in this and he lectures everyone else about it.

It is like Trump lecturing people about lying. Think about that.

If you truly believe your post, then you should be bashing the hell out of him. He is getting it from the left for his actions of the past. But he is getting it from the right because he is the chief spokesperson for pushing pc culture at every opportunity....thus making himself hypocrite #1. If he hadn't spent the last 5 yrs chastising everyone else he wouldn't be getting as much grief.

Haha.. this guy is such a pandering weasel. I love seeing guys like him get caught for crap like this.

@nintendoboy16: Most people on the right don't care. It's just funny to see people on the far left get bit in the ass by the hyper sensitive PC culture they created.

Problem with your logic there is that for him to be a hypocrite, he would have to have known what he did was wrong when he did it and not suddenly because the internet has nothing better to do than dig through people´s past to find dirt, be reminded about the past.

This happened almost 20 years ago and back then the world was a very very different place.

So while I would love to blame him for being a "hypocrite" and be a blowhorn like the right and call him everything under the sun because he is and still is a poster child of the PC insanities. I just can´t because it would not be reasonable.

I just don't see that as racist?

It´s not

But everything to the left is racist now, even Chess is racist now.

What is wrong with admitting that something he did 20 years ago - which at the time wasn't something to apologise about - is wrong today? Blacking up was nothing unusual then, and while we know it was wrong now, why do we need to condemn somebody for doing something that was widely acceptable at the time?

You forget something here, he did not come out himself with this, someone found it and "exposed" the PM.

Didn't really forget it ... it just isn't relevant unless he has ever denied doing it before the picture resurfaced. Then he lied.
Don't think he did.

First of all, it was wrong 20 years ago.

Putting that aside, he is a hypocrite for condemning conservative politicians for their actions 20 years ago. And for apologizing for innumerable bad actions of the federal gov't going back many decades. And is a hypocrite for never acknowledging his own mistakes in the bazillion chances he has had to so whilst in the public eye....not until being outed 24 hrs ago.

The hypocrisy is not related to making a mistake 20 years ago. It is for not owning it until outed yesterday. And for condemning everyone else for events 20 yrs ago, 30 yrs ago, 50 yrs ago.

A non-hypocrite would long ago have acknowledged his mistakes from the past and used those mistakes as part of teaching points, explaining his own journey. After all, social justice is at the top of what he preaches and one would think he could tell his own personal stories. But nope, he hid them like so many others and proceeded to bash everyone else for their sins of the past. Either that or maybe he didn't even internalize it till yesterday....which would be quite incredible in its own right. Either way, that is some amazing leadership right there. /sarcasm

Blacking up wasn't acceptable 20 yrs ago either.

Regardless, apologizing for his actions 20 yrs ago is fine. But he is a self professed social justice leader, so it would have been nice if he had done so of his own volition...not because he was outed.

But the primary issue (for me) is that he and his supporters constantly bash conservative politicians for related social justice issues using their statements, video, etc. going back 20 yrs on topics like gay marriage, abortion, religion, etc.

This has been a common scare tactic since his election 5 yrs ago and has been increasing this year since we are in an election. His campaign and supporters run ads implying that the conservatives will reverse federal policy on the topics I mentioned above by using soundbites from the distant past....that is hypocrisy.

When one bashes people by using their comments from the past against them and then simply excuses one's own actions from that era, one should be properly labelled a hypocrite.

Not going to debate if it was wrong then or if it´s wrong now. But we can conclude that the PC culture has at least in the US and Canda deemed it wrong

Also again as to Trudeau being a hypocrite, he would again have to have remembered his actions back then and then knowing this, still gone out and condemned others for similar actions.

But no matter what all that matters are if this will turn the voters against him or if we have a situation like with Trump, where the alternative is just too horrible.

Eh from living in the US I can see immorality and racism are in for politics...……...

Perhaps today a great deal of people get riled up and offended if someone, god forbid, uses makeup of another color but when it was done (almost two decades ago) people weren't triggered in viewing nonsensical things as racist. Dressing up as Aladdin is now considered racist? Give me a break.

My gut feeling is depsite how awful this looks for Trudeau the fact that the conservatives in Canada have been running an unspiring and somewhat awful campaign so far will make it really hard for them to take advantage of this story. Trudeau will likely form another majority despite getting destroyed in Alberta and Saskatchewan and losing some seats in BC. If it was Mulroney or another really inspiring CPC leader against Trudeau the liberals would be hurt by this story a lot more.

black and brown face is corny and not in good taste, i dont find this to be a big deal, Its only funny because Justin is a big sjw cornball. Thats kinda insensitive Justin, now take the lashings from your base lol

But seriously whats up with these liberals and black/brown face in yearbooks. Ralph northams was worse, the democrat governor from VA, blackface with a fookin klansman. bunch of goofy cornballs.

Imagine if a picture of Trump in black/brown face came out, imagine that reaction... lol

I don't think it exists tho, gonna have to settle for orange face, maybe you can get him for cultural appropriation of pumpkins or some shit. cornballs

Out of those two photographs one is clearly cringe worthy. Dressing up like a genie or going blackface while standing next to a klan member? It's obvious.

My curiosity is whether or not anyone at the school (2001 photo) told him not to do it or afterwards said it was a bad idea. I would say no one said sch a thing because as goofy as he is, that didn't look like there was any intent of offending.

As a Canadian and being brown myself, I don't have a problem with it. In fact I think it's hilarious. There's always context to everything, and he never did it with mal intent. In fact JTs cabinet ministers are the most multicultural in Canadian history. His defense minister is Sikh.

He's not racist, just liked to clown around as a kid. Things also change from generation to generation. Something like this would not be offensive back in 2001. In fact he'd probably be seen as a brotha back then. Nowadays things are different though, lots of snow flakes around.