OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was expected to appear on comedian Lilly Singh’s new late-night show on Wednesday but was removed from the lineup after news began circulating that he had dressed in brownface in 2001.
CTVNews.ca has confirmed with NBC that the show pulled Trudeau’s expected video appearance and doesn’t have future plans to invite him to appear again.
Singh is a 30-year-old Indian-Canadian who first made waves as a YouTube superstar. She now hosts A Little Late with Lilly Singh on NBC, becoming the first woman of colour to have her own late-night talk show.
Trudeau wished her well on Twitter for her opening night on Monday.
In the hours before the Wednesday episode aired, the show deleted its tweet promoting an upcoming video with Trudeau.
A Liberal Party spokesperson told CTVNews.ca that it wasn’t an interview, but a short "comedy clip" that was pre-recorded for Singh’s show earlier this month.
After TIME Magazine published the brownface photo, which appeared in the 2000-2001 yearbook of West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver where Trudeau was a teacher at the time, the news made waves internationally.
Since then, more photos and a video have been unearthed showing Trudeau wearing blackface on other occasions.
He has apologized, saying he is "pissed off" with himself, "embarrassed" and cited his privilege as a "blind spot."
