Republican Rep. Has Weirdest Defense Ever for Blackface Costume

New York Representative Mike Lawler gave the strangest defense for once wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson Halloween costume.

A photograph of Lawler from 2006, showing him posed like the iconic singer with brown makeup applied to his face, was obtained by The New York Times and published Thursday. Lawler, who is 38, would have been 20 years old when the photo was taken.

In a statement, Lawler did not deny the photo’s authenticity. “The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “Let me be clear, this is not that.”

“I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry,” Lawler said. “All you can do is live and learn.”

It’s unclear why Lawler referred to himself as a “student of history” in his apology. Was it to signal that no one needed to chastise him for doing something so obviously and historically wrong? If Lawler knows that to be the case, it’s even stranger that he did it in the first place.

This latest scandal has the potential to affect Lawler’s reelection, as he is currently running in a toss-up race against former Democratic Representative Mondaire Jones for New York’s 17th congressional district seat.

Lawler has attempted to paint himself as a moderate, and was even lauded by President Joe Biden, who called him “the kind of guy that when I was in the Congress, the kind of Republican I used to deal with.” However, a ProPublica study found that Lawler voted in line with MAGA Representative Marjorie Taylor Green 81 percent of the time.

Last month, Rockland Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Garvey accused Lawler, among several other lawmakers, of retaliating against him for attempting to block an illegal $60,000 corporate donation through the state Republican Party.