Julianne Hough is taking some time to reflect on a particularly unfortunate moment in her past: that 2013 blackface Halloween costume controversy.
The Dancing with the Stars alum spoke out about her inappropriate costume actions in a new Instagram Live video on Wednesday. And to hear her tell it, well, it’s clear the 31-year-old has put quite a bit of thought into what she did wrong, at the very least.
Related: Julianne Reacts To Estranged Husband’s New Mohawk!
During a livestream interview on the popular social media platform, Hough opened up about her seven-year-old decision to wear blackface as part of her Orange Is the New Black-themed outfit inspired by one of the show’s star actresses, Uzo Aduba.
The dancer framed the difficult conversation by discussing her own “suffering” at the time, saying:
“I was in my own suffering, wasn’t able to see the macro suffering, and made it about myself and I centered myself in the situation because I wanted people so badly to understand me and my character that I couldn’t see the suffering of so many others … I wanted people to ignore, I wanted people to forget, I wanted to hide, but that was bigger than suppression not only for myself but for Black people. And that is not the stance that I have ever wanted to take, but my fear got in the way, and the fear causes nervousness, causes uncertainty, causes ‘I’m gonna say something wrong so let me just hide.'”
Umm… OK then.
And while the Footloose star admitted in the video that she doesn’t feel the need to “punish” herself for her past actions in this situation, she still nevertheless is intent on learning something from it. To that end, that means the actress is motivated to understand her privilege and learn how to help end racial injustice:
“It is my duty, it is my privilege, it is my honor, as a white woman to figure out what I have to do to help dismantle racism and that is where I’m starting right now. And I’m learning, I’m getting my books, I’m not just posting, because Instagram is not the only platform to show that you care. It happened, it is what it is and now I’m here to join the conversation.”
Well said!
Of course, the Grease: Live! performer has been experiencing quite the emotional rollercoaster of late on many fronts. Just last month, she announced her split from husband Brooks Laich after three years of marriage. (And no, she was not wearing her wedding ring in this Wednesday afternoon video chat on the blackface controversy.)
Anyways, what do U make of Hough’s analysis of her old blackface decision here, Perezcious readers? Is she saying all the right things? And is that enough?
Sound off with your opinions on everything down in the comments (below)…
[Image via WENN/Instar]