U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said he was sorry Thursday after the New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson.
The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is locked in a competitive reelection fight for his congressional seat in New York’s Hudson Valley.
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, Lawler described himself as a lifelong Jackson superfan who was attempting to pay homage to the pop star.
“When attempting to imitate Michael’s legendary dance moves at a college Halloween party eighteen years ago, the ugly practice of black face was the furthest thing from my mind. Let me be clear, this is not that,” he said, adding that the costume was intended as “a genuine homage to one of my childhood idols.”
“I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry,” Lawler said. “All you can do is live and learn, and I appreciate everyone’s grace along the way.”
The Times reported that the photo was taken in 2006 when Lawler was 20. In an image posted by the newspaper, Lawler can be seen wearing a red jacket and posing with an outstretched arm in one of Jackson’s signature dance moves. He used bronzer to darken his face.
The congressman has been a well-documented Jackson devotee.
Last year, The Daily Beast reported on Lawler’s Jackson obsession. A biography of the pop icon, “Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story” told of how Lawler, at age 18, flew from New York to California to attend Jackson’s criminal trial after the musician was charged with molesting a child. In the biographer’s account, Lawler was “so disgusted” with some of the testimony “that he couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath” and was thrown out of the courtroom.
In his statement Thursday, Lawler said “one of my greatest memories” was attending a Jackson concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Lawler is in a tough race against Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is Black. Lawler won office in 2022 and has since become a mainstay on cable news shows.
Blackface minstrelsy took hold in New York City in the 1830s and became popular among post-Civil War whites, though it was regarded as offensive to Black people from the beginning of its use.
Several politicians and celebrities have been criticized for wearing blackface.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.