Trevor Noah lists everything wrong with Justin Trudeau's blackface habit. Stephen Colbert sees 1 upside.

Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert talk Justin Trudeau&#039;s blackface

published 20 September 2019

Canadian politics has been roiled by a photo that has emerged of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "wearing brownface at a party," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "This is pretty bad, and I just want to say ... it's not us this time! Suck it, Canada!"

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"There are so many problems with this photo," Trevor Noah said at The Daily Show. "First of all, it's obviously never okay to do blackface, and secondly, if you are going to darken your skin, at least get the color right, okay? Trudeau isn't dressed like Aladdin, he's dressed as Aladdin doing blackface. ... And also, Trudeau didn't even need the brownface to make the costume work. He's in a full Aladdin outfit at an Arabian Nights–themed party!"

When Time published the photo, "Trudeau hopped on his magic carpet and flew straight to a press conference to apologize," Noah said. And how did that go? "This is not good, man," he said, laughing. "Trudeau came out to apologize for one blackface and ended up admitting to more. He's like, 'I did brownface for Aladdin and I did blackface when I sang the song 'Day-O.' And now, if you'll excuse me, daylight's coming and me wanna go home.'"

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"Look, two instances of blackface would be bad enough," Noah said, but "apparently Trudeau has been going full-body," too. "This guy's committed," he said, but "with the Canadian election just one month away, many are wondering if this blackface scandal is gonna hurt Trudeau's chances of being re-elected. And to be honest, I'm just sad to see another black man being brought down." Trudeau is hardly alone, though, and Noah had some suggestions on how to beat the blackface epidemic. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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