Jimmy Fallon has issued an apology over a resurfaced Saturday Night Live sketch that has been deemed racist.
The clip in question was from a 20-year-old episode in which Fallon impersonates Chris Rock on Regis Philbin's (played by Darrell Hammond) talk show. Fallon is seen in full blackface while cracking problematic jokes that perpetuated racial stereotypes. For example, at one point during the sketch Fallon-as-Rock explains African-Americans don't appear on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire because "black folks don’t want to answer questions."
"Regis, do you think the only way to get a brother on the show is to name it, Who Wants $50 Cash and a Pair of Pumas?" Fallon says in the sketch, which has since been scrubbed from NBC's platforms.
In wake of the resurfaced clip, many Twitter users have called for Fallon to be canceled using the hashtag #JimmyFallonIsOverParty, while others have directed their frustration toward SNL and NBC.
On Tuesday, Fallon apologized for incident and thanked the public for holding him responsible.
"In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this," Fallon said in a tweet. "I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable."
In 2019, Nick Cannon shared an Instagram post showing different comedians donning blackface. Fallon's Rock impersonation was featured alongside blackface images of Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.
"Happy 'BLACKFACE' History Month!!! 🤦🏾♂️" Cannon captioned the post. "I’m sure we can expect some more 'Apologies' by Monday..."
