Republican Rep. Mike Lawler says he’s sorry for wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume when he was in college nearly two decades ago.
The first-term Westchester lawmaker, who’s locked in a tight reelection fight, admits it was a mistake to don the offensive dark makeup at a 2006 Halloween party while he was a student at Manhattan College in the Bronx.
“That is not something I would do today and certainly understand why people would be upset or offended by it, and for that, I’m sorry,” Lawler told CNN Thursday night.
Lawler noted that he is a big fan of Jackson and did not mean to insult anyone. The incident was first revealed by the New York Times, which obtained photos of the college party.
“The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind,” Lawler said in a statement. “Let me be clear, this is not that.”
As a high school senior, Lawler even journeyed to Los Angeles to support the late pop superstar during his 2005 trial on child sex charges. Jackson was acquitted.
Lawler’s Democratic opponent in the November election, ex-Rep. Mondaire Jones, did not immediately comment on the controversy.
The two men are locked in a tight contest for the suburban seat, which Jones previously held before unsuccessfully switching to run unsuccessfully in a different district after a round of redistricting-induced political musical chairs in 2022.
The Westchester race is being closely watched around the country because Lawler is one of a dwindling number of relatively moderate Republicans representing suburban swing districts.
The suburbs have mostly shifted sharply towards Democrats nationwide in the era of former President Trump, although the GOP successfully flipped several Democratic-held seats in the New York metro area in 2022.
Democrats hope to flip back at least five GOP seats in New York and suburban New Jersey in the November election, including the one held by Lawler.
