A French soccer player is apologizing for going full-on blackface at a '80s costume party.
Antoine Griezmann, a star striker for Spain's Atletico Madrid, posted a photo and video of himself Sunday rocking an NBA All-Star costume. However, Griezmann also wore an afro and covered his face and body with black makeup.
As expected, Griezmann received an immense amount of backlash and eventually took the controversial posts down. He also apologized in French on Twitter, which said, "I admit this is awkward on my part. If I hurt some people, I apologize."
Some fans defended Griezmann, saying he did not mean to be racist so therefore he is not. The thing is, it wasn't necessary for him to don blackface to convey his costume. Black people constantly have to remind others that blackface was worn in racist minstrel shows where sometimes non-black performers put on black makeup and oversized lips and played out racial stereotypes.
Often during Halloween, white people are seen adding blackface to their portrayal of black celebrities, and it's recently become a thing among white makeup artists. Each time it causes a disturbance on social media.
There's no word yet from Atletico brass on Griezmann's racially insensitive costume.
Source: tmz.com
