SORRY YEEZY

Republican Apologizes After Blackface Photo Surfaces

The Republican state representative from Georgia said he never meant to make American race relations “worse.”

A state legislator in Georgia is under fire after a photo resurfaced showing him wearing blackface. Republican Kasey Carpenter, 47, said it was part of a Kanye West costume for a party more than a decade ago. His wife dressed up as Kim Kardashian. “I understand this is bigger than just politics ... As a representative for all people in my district, I seek to understand their needs, interest, joys, and even their fears‚” Carpenter said, going on to praise the music of West, who himself has drawn fierce backlash for praising Hitler and Nazi ideology. “Kanye West definitely has some questionable views on public matters. He’s still no doubt one of the greatest music performers of that generation. In my mind I would think that this was how far we’ve come as a society. That if you respect someone, skin tone does not matter.” Carpenter has served in the Georgia House of Representatives since 2017, representing a district centered in Dalton, which sits in the northern part of the state. He was previously appointed as chairman of the Creative Arts & Entertainment committee. The revelation that Carpenter wore blackface comes a little more than a month before he faces a primary challenge from Cleve Manis. If he survives that, Carpenter will face Democrat Quentin Postell, a Black college student, in the general election.