Harry Connick Jr Shocked by Australian Blackface Skit (VIDEO)

By Amanda Pendolino on October 8th, 2009

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Blackface is not okay – and I’m glad Harry Connick Jr agrees with me. According to MSNBC, he appeared as a guest judge on an Australian variety show called Hey Hey It’s Saturday last night, and was shocked to see singers parodying the Jackson Five in blackface. Connick, 42, gave the performance a zero score and told them that if it had been done in the United States it would have been pulled off the air.

Quick history lesson: in the 19th and early 20th centuries, white performers in minstrel shows would rub coal, grease or shoe polish on their faces and pretend to be stock black characters. Guess what – it was meant to be demeaning and offensive. And that’s exactly what this performance was.

At the end of the show, host Daryl Somers apologized to Connick: “I know that to your countrymen, that’s an insult to have a blackface routine like that on the show, so I do apologize to you.” Why isn’t it an insult to Australians? That’s a problem. In online forums, some Australians said they were embarrassed such a racist sketch had been broadcast, while others said the skit was funny and that people were being too politically correct. I’m sorry, but there’s a difference between being politically incorrect and being racist.

You might remember the third episode of Mad Menthis season, in which Roger Sterling donned blackface at a summer party. Here’s the difference: it was supposed to be shocking and uncomfortable. It was supposed to make you think about the difference between the 1960s and today. The Hey Hey performance was not; it was supposed to make you laugh at white people pretending to be black people.