While appearing on a reunion special of Australian TV show Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Harry Connick Jr. became offended by a skit of men performing in blackface (above).
The skit, which was a parody of the Jackson 5, called themselves the Jackson Jive, which was performed 20 years earlier on the show.
Harry, who was judging the performance, gave them a score of 0 out of 10.
Later, the shows host Daryl Somers could tell that the singer was offended and apologized. After the apology Connick, Jr. said:
“Thanks Daryl, and I just wanted to say on behalf of my country, I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that, we take it really to heart. I know it was in good fun, and the last thing I want to do is take this show to a down level – because you know how much I love this show and this country – but I feel like I’m at home here, and if I knew that was going to be part of the show, I probably – I definitely wouldn’t have done it. Thank you for the opportunity, I’ve got to give it up because [I spoke to] Daryl at the break, and he said ‘Man, you need to speak up as an American – not as a white American or a black American, but as an American’. [I felt] I needed to say that, so thanks for giving me the opportunity, I appreciate it. You’re a good man for letting me do that.”
The skit was distasteful, tacky and too soon to be doing that kind of Jackson 5 “tribute”.
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