Al Roker Criticized for Dressing as White Character for Halloween
by EG
Al Roker defended himself against criticism of his Halloween costume this week. Conservatives on social media suggested that it was hypocritical for Roker to dress as a white character after his colleague Megyn Kelly was fired for saying that it should be fine dress in black face. Some even used the hash tag #Whiteface, even though Roker didn't color his skin for the costume. Read on for details.
Via Page Six.
“Today” show weatherman Al Roker is under fire for dressing up on Halloween as Doc Brown, the quirky — and white — time machine inventor in the “Back to the Future” trilogy.
"Don’t color your skin": NBC weather anchor #AlRoker is defending his Halloween costume after receiving criticism following the #MegynKelly controversy. https://t.co/iEKlgv55Fn
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 1, 2018
Some social media users asked why it was all right for him to dress up as a Caucasian character, while NBC canceled his colleague Megyn Kelly’s show after her controversial blackface comments.
@alroker: @megynkelly is a terrible person to even suggest that it is Ok for a white person to go as a black character for Halloween. Also @alroker: Goes as Doc brown, a white character from a movie for halloween. #Hypocrites #Whiteface
— Mimi320 (@Mimi3202) November 1, 2018
“I’m going to say this one last time, but the folks who get it, understand and the ones who DON’T, won’t,” Roker tweeted to explain why his ‘80s-themed costume was not an example of whiteface.
“I can be Doc Brown, and I wear the outfit and wig and not change my skin color if you’re white, you can be President Obama if you want. Just don’t color your skin!”
Accompanied by fellow meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, who dressed up as Marty McFly, Roker wore a white wig and white overalls – but didn’t alter the color of his face in his portrayal of Christopher Lloyd’s character.
Get the rest of the story at Page Six.
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