Seth Rogen got a lot of good press earlier this week when he became the voice of public transit messages, not only in Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»but also in Toronto.
He's ending the week apologizing for using blackface on the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»set of a movie he’s filming.
Seth Rogen in Los Angeles on July 31, 2018 (Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com)
Good Boys features 11-year-old Keith L. Williams. TMZ reports that last week, the production company, Good Universe, blackened the face of the actor’s stand-in to match Williams’ skin tones. TMZ says it was told the stand-in was a light-skinned African-American who was also put in a fat suit and given an afro wig.
However, the website notes that it’s usual procedure to hire a stand-in who actually matches the actor’s complexion.
“I should start by saying this shouldn’t have happened, and I’m terribly sorry it did,” Rogen said in a statement.
“I won’t give excuses for why it happened. I’ll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it – and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again. I’m engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It’s on me to be proactive. Reacting isn’t enough.”
When asked to comment about the use of blackface on a set, Academy award winning rapper Common told TMZ, “Painting someone darker? Come on, man, it’s 2018. When is that acceptable...“I don’t think that’s ever appropriate."
Rogen volunteered for the voice-over job after TransLink yanked ads featuring Morgan Freeman after allegations of sexual impropriety emerged in a CNN investigation. Freeman has denied the allegations but that left TransLink voice-less.
