Common Says That Blackface Is Never Appropriate Including On Movie Sets

According to the rapper and actor, Common, there is never an excuse for black-face, ever. Even if a stand-in for a movie or TV show requires makeup to match the complexion of the actor, it’s still not permissible.

If someone has to use makeup to match the skin tone of a black person, then the director must find a replacement.

When Common left the Equinox on Wednesday, reporters caught up with him and he said that one should never don black-face. Reportedly, TMZ found that Keith L Williams had been wearing makeup to match the complexion of the actor he portrayed, and the rapper said this was unacceptable.

According to Common – a former collaborator with the legendary producer, Jay Dilla – actors should never use makeup even for lighting purposes, which was the defensive claim made by the production company.

Common thinks that the production company was using that as an excuse, and there still, is no reason for the use of blackface. Moreover, the rapper believes that it shouldn’t just be black people who speak out against this sort of thing.

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A post shared by Common (@common) on Aug 1, 2018 at 9:02am PDT

As you may know, this isn’t the first time that blackface has been in the news in recent months. Just before the release of Drake’s latest and massively successful album, Scorpio, Pusha-T published a photograph of Drake donning blackface while dressed up as a white person.

The image circulated just before Pusha-T’s last album, Daytona, produced by Kanye West and his record label, G.O.O.D Music. However, the major difference between these two cases is that Drake is, of course, a black man, while Keith L Williams is not.

Either way, blackface, as a cultural phenomenon, has become a seriously contentious issue in the last ten to fifteen years.

Although, it became malpractice following the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s as well. For the most part, the theatrical makeup style was used in the 19th century, predominantly featured in minstrel shows.