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Fallon apologizes for blackface bit
NBC “Tonight” show host Jimmy Fallon has apologized for doing an impersonation of fellow comic Chris Rock while in blackface during a 2000 episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
Fallon tweeted Tuesday that “there is no excuse for this.”
Discussion of Fallon’s 20-year-old skit surfaced after a video of it was posted online. According to reports, it was first posted on Twitter by a user named “chefboyohdear,” and showed Fallon, as Rock, appearing on a talk show. Fallon tweeted that it was a terrible decision to impersonate Rock, also a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member.
“I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable,” the latenight star wrote.
Another late-night comic, Jimmy Kimmel, wore blackface to impersonate basketball star Karl Malone while on Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” 20 years ago. Sarah Silverman used blackface for a sketch on her Comedy Central show in 2007, a decision she later said she was “horrified” by.
Billie Eilish speaks out against body shaming:
“Growing up in public” has been the story of Billie Eilish’s life in the four-plus years since she rose from SoundCloud star to global phenomenon — but she’s using her platform to make a powerful statement about body shaming and assumptions people make about her and other young women with a new spoken-word video called
“Not My Responsibility.”
In the months since she became famous, much has been made about Eilish’s “realness” and her disinclination to glam herself up in traditional female pop-star ways, choosing instead to dress more like a rapper or a normal teenager. In the clip, the singer — who turned 18 in December — is shown in a darkened room, slowly removing her black hoodie as she speaks about body image and shaming. “Do you know me?,” she says, before proceeding into a series of questions about how people see her and expect her to act.
Steve Carell brings back Gru in new PSA:
Steve Carell is bringing back his character Gru from “Despicable Me” to shed light on proper health and safety etiquette during the coronavirus crisis in a new PSA for the World Health Organization.
In the clip, Carell highlights the “lifesaving behaviors” necessary to curb the pandemic, including social distancing, staying active at home and being kind to one another.
Gru, dressed in women’s clothes, shoots water at a friend to keep her from coming any closer. He also shows some “sick dance moves” in front of a group of minions, and whips up a soup of gummy bears and meat, letting viewers know that there is plenty to do while cooped up at home.
“Stay home, stay healthy, and remember: We’re all in this together, but totally separate,” Gru says.
This marks the first time that a Hollywood studio has partnered with the World Health Organization, the UN Foundation and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.