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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support is holding steady after he apologized last week when photos resurfaced of him wearing brownface during a school event in 2001.
Trudeau, 47, is seeking a second term as Prime Minister in an Oct. 21 federal election. He said the photo was taken at an end-of-the-year gala with an “Arabian Nights” theme, which he attended when he was a teacher. The photograph shows a 29-year-old Trudeau wearing a turban and robe with dark makeup on his hands, face and neck. First reported by Time, the Canadian leader said he was dressed as a character from “Aladdin” in the photo.
“I hurt people who in many cases consider me an ally,” Trudeau said in a news conference. “I let a lot of people down.”
Trudeau added that he also once darkened his face for a performance of a Harry Belafonte song during a talent show in high school. In a third incident, a brief video surfaced of Trudeau in blackface. He said it was taken on a costume day while he was working as guide for a river rafting company.
His main opponent in the election, Andrew Scheer of the Conservative Party, assailed him as “not fit to govern.”
Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister in November 2015. He is the son of Pierre Trudeau and the first child of a Canadian prime minister to become prime minister himself.
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