Justin Trudeau Wore Brownface at 2001 ‘Arabian Nights’ Party While He Taught at a Private School
Justin Trudeau, now the prime minister of Canada, appears in dark makeup on his face, neck and hands at a 2001 “Arabian Nights”-themed party at the West Point Grey Academy, the private school where he taught.
BY ANNA PURNA KAMBHAMPATY , MADELEINE CARLISLE AND MELISSA CHAN
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 2:12 PM EDT | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 6:32 PM EDT
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, wore brownface makeup to a party at the private school where he was teaching in the spring of 2001. TIME has obtained a photograph of the incident.
Earlier this month, TIME obtained a copy of the yearbook, The View, with the photograph of Trudeau in brownface from Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson, who was part of the West Point Grey Academy community. Adamson was not at the party, which was attended by school faculty, administrators and parents of students. He said that he first saw the photograph in July and felt it should be made public.
The yearbook from the 2000/2001 school year at West Point Grey Academy shows several people, some of whom are still on staff at the school, dressed up for the gala—however only Trudeau appears to have darkened his skin.
Justin Trudeau also admitted to wearing blackface makeup to sing the Jamaican folk song “Day O” in high school for a talent show. TIME has confirmed this photo shows the Canadian prime minister.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday night, following TIME’s publication of the photo, Trudeau apologized: “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better and I didn’t. I’m really sorry.” When asked if he thought the photograph was racist, he said, “Yes it was. I didn’t consider it racist at the time, but now we know better.”
Trudeau said he wore blackface “makeup” in high school to sing “Day-O,” a Jamaican folk song famously performed by African-American singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte. TIME has confirmed that a photo shows Trudeau at a school talent show wearing blackface and an afro wig.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Apologizes For Wearing Brownface
A third instance emerged Thursday—this one a grainy video showing Trudeau in blackface, raising his hands in the air. On Thursday, Astravas confirmed that the video showed Trudeau from the early 1990s. It comes despite Trudeau being asked at his press conference whether there were any other incidents he wanted to own up to.
This is a critical moment for Trudeau, who began his re-election campaign on Sept. 11 under the cloud of a scandal over whether he pressured his then-attorney general to drop corruption charges against a large Canadian engineering firm. The Liberal Party leader has championed minority groups during his nearly four years as prime minister and made his embrace of Canada’s many cultures a major part of his leadership. At least seven of the 35 members of Trudeau’s cabinet are from ethnic minorities.
Trudeau has previously garnered regular media attention in the Canadian and global press for his choice of attire. In 2018, he was mocked for the elaborate Indian garb that he, his wife and their three children wore during a visit to India.
Trudeau was also criticized by artist Robert Davidson, who is a member of the Haida indigenous people, because of a tattoo on his left arm that is based on the artist’s work. Davidson said in 2016 that the Trudeau government’s approval of a natural gas facility opposed by the Haida showed the prime minister was not genuinely sensitive to concerns of Canada’s indigenous population.
TIME reached out to multiple people who attended West Point Grey’s spring gala in 2001, including three of the four women in the photo with Trudeau. Most were reluctant to talk about it. One former staff member declined to comment, citing loyalty to Trudeau. Others said they did not remember Trudeau at the party. Two people contacted by TIME acknowledged the existence of the picture, which has been the subject of gossip within the West Point Grey community.
Justin Trudeau Wore Brownface at 2001 ‘Arabian Nights’ Party While He Taught at a Private School, Canada’s Liberal Party Admits
Trudeau was not the only person in costume at the 2001 gala event. Of the individuals in six photographs from the event published in the yearbook, Trudeau appears to be the only one who darkened his skin. Many who dressed up for the “Arabian Nights” gala are still at the school, including current headmaster Stephen Anthony, who is pictured wearing what appears to be a crown.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Gregoire pay their respects at the SSikh Golden Temple in Amritsar on Feb. 21, 2018.
The yearbook shows Trudeau among the staff at West Point Grey, a private day school. He downplayed his experience there during his campaign in 2015.
Anthony did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the photo and the event.
Trudeau taught classes, including French, until he left after the spring of 2001. West Point Grey Academy is currently among the most expensive private day schools in Vancouver, with annual tuition ranging from just under $22,000 to about $23,500. During his 2015 election campaign, Trudeau downplayed his experience at the private academy, instead of focusing on his time teaching at a public school in Vancouver.
Trudeau is far from the only public figure who darkened his skin in the past for a costume.
The United States has a long and painful history of white performers darkening their faces to demean and dehumanize African-Americans—a practice made popular by minstrel shows in the 19th century. Blackface continued into the 20th century in Broadway shows and Hollywood movies.
In February, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam first apologized for, and then denied he was in a 1984 medical school yearbook photo that surfaced earlier this year showing a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood. Despite criticism, Northam declined to step aside. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also apologized this year after a radio interview from the 1960s surfaced in which she was described as wearing blackface.
Trudeau’s West Grey accuser was much younger than first thought
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s underage accuser was much younger at the time of their relationship than was first thought, her father tells The Chronicle. Some in the public discourse pegged the accusor at 17 years old. That is inaccurate.
“She was much, much younger than that,” the wealthy Canadian businessman told The Chronicle yesterday. He was not a party to the $2.25 million mutual non-disclosure non-disparagement agreement that she signed, in exchange for her continued silence, on the Wednesday evening of October 9th.
The terms of that agreement prevent both the accuser and Trudeau from acknowledging “any aspect” of that relationship, without triggering a six-to-seven-figure liquidated damages clause. That penalty starts at $500,000 and scales up, depending on the magnitude of the breach.
The accusor’s father shared with The Chronicle a password-protected digital copy of that agreement, giving us limited access to it for several hours on the condition we would make no copies and not distribute. Doing so could have jeopardized the terms of the agreement, which imposes damages on either party in the event they acknowledge or discuss the relationship publicly.
He does not believe his discussion of that agreement’s existence is a violation of its terms since he was not a party to it. He did not acquire the document from his daughter; it was incorrectly CC’d to him on an email between the negotiating parties.
The two engaged in a long and steamy affair on- and off-campus while Trudeau taught drama and French at Vancouver’s prestigious West Point Grey Academy. He was discovered by his accusor’s father at their family home, which prompted private demands to school administrators that he be removed from his position immediately.
“There was a ‘small settlement’ at the time,” he says, but declined to elaborate.
The relationship was discovered several months after Pierre Trudeau‘s death. He died on September 28th, and was eulogized by his son on October 3rd — an event that made him a rising political star, around whom much of Canada would swoon. His students were particularly fawning, friends say.
At the time, the family was told that the school’s standard employment agreement included confidentiality terms that would be binding on Trudeau after his departure. As a matter of policy, the school does not comment on personnel matters.
Trudeau’s friends at the time say that the typically outgoing and exuberant young man was suffering through a bout of depression following his father’s death in 2000, and his brother’s death in 1997. They postulate that anything improper was likely a result of his fragile emotional state at the time, not because of any nefarious character trait.
“He was lonely and depressed for months,” one friend told The Chronicle.
At the time, Canada’s age of consent was 14 years old.
In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had that law changed, raising the age to 16, where the law sits today. Still, Canada outlaws sex between adults and people younger than 18 when the adult is in a position of responsibility for the wellbeing of that child.
Trudeau’s behaviour would have been illegal at the time.
To date, Trudeau has not offered a public denial of The Buffalo Chronicle’s reporting. Instead, he has instructed his communications staffers to decline to answer those questions and to attack the credibility of this publication.
The Buffalo Chronicle has never — in our entire operating history — been sued for defamation or any other matter. We have never once received a cease and desist letter from the subjects of any article since we began publishing in 2014.
We have not received such a cease and desist letter from Mr. Trudeau.
If you made it this far you might want to check out this video from my BitChute channel
JUSTIN TRUDEAU IS SURROUNDED BY SEX OFFENDERS – CHECK OUT THE LINKS IN THE BELOW
Trudeau’s West Grey accuser was much younger than first thought
https://buffalochronicle.com/2019/10/19/trudeaus-west-grey-accusor-was-much-younger-than-first-thought/
Vancouver teacher, Jimmy Crescenzo reflects on his 35-year career after winning a national award, given by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month.
Crescenzo was lauded for his 36-year career at Templeton, where he’s helped raise close to $3 million for the school’s arts programs. He’s been a drama teacher at the East Van school since 1981 and helped develop film, theatre and television programs for at-risk youth across Metro Vancouver.
Help us support his initiatives by buying a raffle ticket at Italian Day where partial proceeds will be donated to the Film and Theatre program at Templeton run by Jimmy Crescenzo and Tanya Zambrano, continuing the efforts to develop the programs while also helping at-risk youth.
Raffle stations at Italian Day will be found at 2nd Ave, Grandview Park and Da Vinci Travel.
https://www.facebook.com/158021454260235/posts/1495165637212470
Accused child-porn maker marched with Trudeau and Wynne in Toronto Pride 2013
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/accused-child-porn-maker-marched-with-trudeau-and-wynne-in-toronto-pride-20/
Justin Trudeau’s Good Friend Jailed for Child-Porn Charges (And There’s More—Much More) [videos] ~ August 10, 2018
https://roserambles.org/2018/08/10/justin-trudeaus-good-friend-jailed-for-child-porn-charges-and-theres-more-much-more-videos-august-10-2018/
Benjamin Levin, ex-deputy education minister, sentenced to 3 years in prison for child porn-related offences
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/benjamin-levin-ex-deputy-education-minister-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison-for-child-porn-related-offences-1.3092393
DYSTOPIA - A Justin Trudeau Canada 