Justin Trudeau: Canadian PM 'wary' of saying how many times he wore 'brownface'

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the media in Winnipeg, Manitoba
AP
Jacob Jarvis19 September 2019

Canada's PM Justin Trudeau has refused to be definitive on how many times he wore "brownface" makeup as he cannot be sure.

Mr Trudeau said he would not give an exact figure as he did not recall recent pictures that surfaced.

"I am wary of being definitive about this because the recent pictures that came out, I had not remembered," he said, according to the BBC.

Answering questions from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mr Trudeau said that his privilege as the white son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had come with a "blind spot."

"I come from a place of privilege and I have endeavoured in my life to put the advantages and opportunities I've been given to serve this country, to fight for people's rights," he said.

"I've let a lot of people down ... and I stand here today to reflect on that and to ask forgiveness."

He previously said: "I'm not that person anymore."

His campaign moved to contain a growing furore on Thursday after a yearbook photo surfaced of him skin-darkening make up at a 2001 "Arabian Nights" costume party and two other similar incidents came to light.

With his bid for re-election just a month away, the 47-year-old Trudeau begged Canadians to forgive him.

Time magazine published the first photo on Wednesday, saying it was taken from the yearbook from the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in British Columbia where Mr Trudeau worked as a teacher before going into politics.

While Canadian television channel Global News has now broadcast footage of Mr Trudeau in the "racist make-up" at another event.

A spokesman for the ruling Liberal party said the video was from the early 1990s.

"I should have known better then, but I didn't, and I am deeply sorry for it," Mr Trudeau said after the emergence of the image in Time, adding: "It was a dumb thing to do."

Additional reporting by agencies.

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