Halloween is here and so there will be costumes and candy and haunted houses and reporters asking celebrities about blackface. The latest to be accosted is Damien Wayans, who TMZ flagged down in L.A., asking him about blackface and whiteface because of his qualifications: his uncles dressed up as white girls in the movie White Chicks. Wayans was evasive, saying only that he likes White Chicks. When asked if he thought it was alright if white kids dressed up as Black Panther he responded, carefully, that he's alright with "paying homage or paying tribute to something" but that you also have to "do it in good taste."
Unfortunately, many people aren't able to colour within the lines of good taste and this year has seen one of the most high-profile fallouts of this persistent public debate. Megyn Kelly, former Fox News and now former NBC anchor was fired for saying that she thinks blackface is alright in the context of halloween, specifically defending a Real Housewives star who decided to darken her skin for a Diana Ross costume, saying "who doesn't love Diana Ross?" The day after, she apologized at the very beginning of her show, but it wasn't enough for her bosses.
