N.Y. Congressman in Toss-Up House District Faces Backlash After Photos Surface of Him in Blackface as Michael Jackson
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"I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry," Lawler said Thursday
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Rep. Mike Lawler in October 2023New York Congressman Mike Lawler wore blackface while dressing as Michael Jackson for Halloween in 2006, according to photos obtained by The New York Times. Lawler is a first-term Republican who is in a tight race to retain his seat in the 2024 election.
"My costume was intended as the sincerest form of flattery, a genuine homage to one of my childhood idols since I was a little kid trying to moonwalk through my Mom's kitchen," Lawler, 38, said in a statement to the Times, CNN and the Associated Press.
"I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry," Lawler continued. "All you can do is live and learn, and I appreciate everyone's grace along the way."
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Rep. Mike Lawler in April 2024Related: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Talks Racist Photo Scandal and How It 'Opened My Eyes'
The photos, including one published by the Times, show Lawler dressed to resemble Jackson in the "Beat It" music video with a red jacket, black shirt and jeans. Lawler told the Times he used bronzer borrowed from a classmate to darken his face.
The pictures were taken around October 2006 while Lawler was a sophomore at Manhattan College, a Catholic college in The Bronx now known as Manhattan University.
"There's a danger to it even when it might be a homage," Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, a historian of race in 19th Century America at Smith College, told the Times of blackface Thursday.
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Rep. Mike Lawler in May 2024Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
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"I'm not committing to vilifying the person," Pryor, who is biracial, continued. "But I don't think you can say it didn't mean anything."
Lawler is a known Jackson fan. Last year, The Daily Beast reported that Lawler was mentioned in J. Randy Taroborelli's 2009 biography Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, with Tarobelli writing that the future congressman flew from New York to California to attend Jackson's 2005 child sexual abuse trial. (Jackson was found not guilty of all charges.)
Lawler represents New York's 17th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Hudson River Valley. He is considered a rising figure in the Republican Party, having defeated longtime Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022. This year, Lawler is in a tight race against Democratic former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is Black.
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