Joy Behar Admits To Darkening Her Skin To Look Like A ‘Beautiful African Woman’ – So Why Is Black Twitter Defending Her?
The View co-host Joy Behar is currently the latest celebrity to spark outrage over a reported case of blackface. The conversation was reintroduced after a long-forgotten video clip from the talk show resurfaced showing the TV personality explaining a Halloween costume from when she was younger.
In the clip, which was initially shared by The Wrap media editor Jon Levine, Behar could be seen giving her thoughts on a New York Times opinion piece which tackled the returning trend of curly hair back in 2016.
In doing so, she showed the studio audience and her colleagues, including now ex-co-host Raven-Symoné, a photo of herself at 29-years-old rocking a curly 'do. Her explanation that followed seemed to rub some folks the wrong way.
Upon seeing the photo, her co-hosts appeared visibly shocked at what they were looking at.
"Joy, are you Black?... are you my auntie, Joy?" Raven asked, to which she responded, "I was so cute."
Behar then explained that the photo was taken at a Halloween party where she chose to dress as a "beautiful African woman." She stressed, however, that the hair was all hers. When Raven followed-up by asking if she used tanning lotion to deepen her complexion, she admitted that she wore makeup "that was a little darker than my skin."
Take a look at the clip, below:
While there has been massive outrage surrounding Behar's past decision, many are coming to her defense, claiming this was an act of cultural appreciation as opposed to appropriation.
Take a look at some reactions, below:
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