Jackson Jive Blackface Act Angers Harry Connick Jr. (VIDEO)
American singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. was a guest judge last night on an Australian talent show called Hey Hey It’s Saturday. One of the performances was by a group called Jackson Jive and their appearance earned them a score of zero from Harry.
The song and dance troop first appeared on the show 20 years ago. Jackson Jive was invited back for one of two reunion shows to reprise their act. The group of four white men were dressed in black afro wigs and wore blackface makeup. The group sang and danced behind a Michael Jackson impersonator wearing white makeup.
Connick was visibly shaken and told the group that if that performance had been attempted in the United States, it would have been pulled from the air. The show host Daryl Somers apologized to Connick at the end of the show. He said, “I know that to your countrymen, that’s an insult to have a blackface routine like that on the show, so I do apologize to you.”
Harry acknowledged that he would never have appeared on the program if he had known what was coming. He responded to Somers apology by saying, “I just want to say, on behalf of my country, I know it was done humorously, but we’ve spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons, that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.”
Jackson Jive performer Anand Deva said after the fact that it was not meant to cause offense but added he would not have performed it in the U.S.
View the video below.
Filed under: Celebrities
I think the guys sincerely didn’t mean anything racist and probably grew up with Michael’s music but this is Australia and they have a cruder outlook to humour. Personally, black or white the routine is just plain STUPID.
Btw Harry’s still hot!
It really seems very contradictory that US citizens are making a big deal out of the comedy skit about the Jackson 5 on the Australian Hey Hey its Saturday program a few days ago. So the US have a black president and now sudden they all have become very sensitive about blacks. Let’s not forget about all of the blacks in prison over there, let’s not forget how many blacks are executed in the USA each year, let’s not forget many US citizens thought Obama was not a good presidential candidate because the US was not ready for a black president. What about all the videos we have seen over the last few years of white policemen beating up and bashing black prisoners or crime suspects. Oh but some silly Aussie program skit that was not intentionality meant to offend but was aired as no one realized it was a raciest thing have now been made to look like the biggest racists in the world. What a joke!
I am Australian and have been living here in the US (in Memphis) for ten years, so my current awareness of racism is completely different to what it was when I was still living in Australia. Keep in mind that this is a show – a variety show – that happens to have a “talent” segment and in fact the stupider the “talent” the more points you get … this is not the Australian version of America’s Got Talent where it is supposed to be serious … I can’t believe this made international news … of course if Harry hadn’t been a judge, I doubt we would have heard a whisper of it all the way over here in the US!
Hey TV Reviewer…..methinks you are taliking out of your ass because your mouth knows better.