YESTERDAY. SHE’S APOLOGIZING FOR IT NOW.
MORGAN RADFORD JOINS US FOR THAT
STORY.
STORY. >> Reporter: GOOD MORNING.
MEGYN KELLY ISSUED THAT APOLOGY
IN AN ISSUE TO COLLEAGUES.
SHE NOW KNOWS SHE IS WRONG ABOUT
HER COMMENTS OF BLACKFACE.
AND THAT RAISED THE QUESTION OF
RACE AND THE HISTORY OF
BLACKFACE IN OUR CULTURE.
THIS MORNING, MEGYN KELLY IS
APOLOGIZING FOR HER
CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS.
CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS. >> THIS YEAR, THE COSTUME POLICE
ARE CRACKING DOWN LIKE NEVER
BEFORE.
BEFORE. >> Reporter: IT STARTED AS A
DISCUSSION ABOUT PROPOSED BAN OF
HALLOWEEN COSTUMES.
HALLOWEEN COSTUMES. >> ISN’T THE PURPOSE OF
HALLOWEEN TO DRESS UP SOMETHING
OTHER THAN YOURSELF.
>> Reporter: BUT IT EVOLVED INTO
A CONVERSATION ABOUT RACE IN
AMERICA.
AMERICA. >> WHAT IS RACIST?
YOU GET IN TROUBLE IF YOU’RE A
WHITE PERSON WHO PUTS ON
BLACKFACE ON HALLOWEEN, OR A
BLACK PERSON THAT PUTS ON
WHITEFACE FOR HALLOWEEN.
THAT WAS OKAY AS LONG AS YOU’RE
DRESSING UP AS A CHARACTER.
>> Reporter: KELLY, DEFENDING A
REALITY TV STAR, WHO ADARKENED
HER SKIN.
HER SKIN. >> SHE WANTS TO LOOK LIKE DIANA
ROSS FOR ONE DAY.
I DON’T KNOW HOW THAT GOT RACIST
ON HALLOWEEN.
ON HALLOWEEN. >> Reporter: ON TWITTER, THE
BACKLASH TO KELLY’S REMARKS WAS
BITING.
BITING. "TOP CHEF" HOST, PADMA LAKSHMI
TWEETING, I CANNOT BELIEVE THE
IGNORANCE ON THIS IN 2018.
YOU ARE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO
EDUCATE YOURSELF ON SOCIAL
ISSUES, MEGYN KELLY.
>> THE MAN HAS TO PUT ME THROUGH
A SIMPLE MOVE.
>> NO, STUPID.
YOU MEAN A CIVIL SERVICE
EXAMINATION.
EXAMINATION. >> Reporter: BLACKFACE TARGETED
THE WORST STEREOTYPES MOCKING
AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS. >> WHEN WE HAD WHITE PERFORMERS
DARKENING THEIR FEATURES,
EXAGGERATEING THE LIPS AND NOSES
IT LITERALLY REDUCED THE
HUMANITY OF THE BLACK BODY.
>> Reporter: IN AN E-MAIL TO
STAFF, RELEASED BY NBC NEWS,
KELLY WRITES, IN PART, I REALIZE
NOW THAT SUCH BEHAVIOR IS,
INDEED, WRONG.
INDEED, WRONG. AND I AM SORRY.
THE HISTORY OF BLACKFACE IN OUR
CULTURE IS ABHORRENT, THE WOUNDS
TOO DEEP.
TOO DEEP. I’VE NEVER BEEN A P.C. KIND OF
PERSON BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT WE
NEED TO BE MORE SENSITIVE IN
THIS DAY AND AGE.
>> JESUS WAS A WHITE MAN, TOO.
>> Reporter: KELLY HAS COME
UNDER FIRE FOR STATEMENTS ABOUT
RACE THAT SHE MADE ON FOX NEWS.
>> SANTA IS WHITE.
>> Reporter: IN HER E-MAIL,
KELLY SAYS THIS IS A TIME FOR
MORE UNDERSTANDING AND LOVE.
ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. MOST OF THE ONLINE CRITICISM
ADDRESS EDED THE FACT THAT THERE
WERE NO PEOPLE OF COLOR
REPRESENTED IN THAT PANEL.
POINTING OUT THAT WHAT WE SAW
WAS A CONVERSATION THAT PEOPLE
GENERALLY HAVE IN A PRIVATE
SPACE, WHERE THERE ARE NO
REPERCUSSIONS.
REPERCUSSIONS. BUT THIS LEARNING MOMENT REALLY
GIFTED US THE OPPORTUNITY TO
HAVE THIS CONVERSATION IN A
PUBLIC DISCOURSE.
PUBLIC DISCOURSE. WE NOW HAVE THE COURAGE AND THE
PLATFORM TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS
LIKE THIS, EVEN WHEN THEY’RE
UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE WE CAN SEE
THEY’RE STILL NECESSARY.
>> IT IS UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE
MEGYN IS A COLLEAGUE AT NBC
NEWS.
NEWS. BUT, I KNOW --
>> THE FACT IS, WHILE SHE
APOLOGIZED TO THE STAFF, SHE
OWES A BIGGER APOLOGY TO FOLKS
OF COLOR AROUND THE COUNTRY
BECAUSE THIS IS OUR HISTORY.
GOING BACK TO THE 1830s,
MINSTREL SHOWS, TO MEAN AND
DENIGRATE A RACE IS NOT NICE.
YOU HAD PEOPLE IN BLACKFACE
PLAYING THE BLACK CHARACTERS,
MAGNIFYING THE WORSTCHARACTERS O
BLACK PEOPLE.
BLACK PEOPLE. >> THERE WAS AN ISSUE ONLINE,
THIS IS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
RUN AMOK.
RUN AMOK. THAT’S SILLY.
THAT’S SILLY. IN ADDITION TO HER BEING A
COLLEAGUE, SHE’S A FRIEND.
SHE SAID SOMETHING STUPID.
SHE SAID SOMETHING INDEFENSIBLE.
AND THE FACT -- A LOT OF FOLKS
DON’T REALIZE THAT JIM CROW,
SHORT HAND FOR THE RACIST LAWS
THAT EXISTED IN THIS COUNTRY FOR
MUCH OF THE LAST CENTURY,
ESPECIALLY IN THE DEEP SOUTH,
THE TERM JIM CROW FROM A
MINSTREL SHOW IN THE 1830s.
IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO
LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACKFACE.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW
ABOUT BLACKFACE BEFORE
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. >> YOU KNOW.
YOU KNOW.
YOU KNOW. NO GOOD COMES FROM IT.
AND IT GOES BACK TO THE 1930s
WHEN RUNNER OWEN PLAYED CHARLIE