Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx came to the defense of “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, after Fallon took heat over an old “Saturday Night Live” skit and was accused of donning “blackface.”
But Foxx says the unearthed sketch from 20 years ago wasn’t even blackface, and told Fallon’s critics to “let this one go.”
What are the details?
Social media lit up this week after a clip from 2000 resurfaced showing Fallon wearing dark make-up during a segment where he played Chris Rock, but the online reactions were mixed. While some people expressed outrage at the footage, others called for people to calm down and defended Fallon against “cancel culture.”
Foxx was one of the big names who stood of for Fallon. According to Us Weekly, Foxx commented on an E! News Instagram post covering the controversy, “He was doing an impression of Chris Rock. It wasn’t black face. We comedians, I know it’s a tough time right now. But this one is a stretch.”
Foxx added, “On a show called ‘In Living Color,’ we played every race. Let this one go. We got bigger fish to fry…#changecourse.”
After his name began trending on social media sites on Tuesday, Fallon was quick to apologize, tweeting, “In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this. I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable.”