No regrets? Jason Aldean defended dressing in blackface during a 2015 Halloween bash for the first time in a new interview with Billboard magazine.
As previously reported, the country superstar, 39, went to a party last year as rapper Lil Wayne. A photo of Aldean in costume went viral and he was quickly criticized for his choice to wear darker makeup — deemed to many as an archaic and offensive practice.
"In this day and age people are so sensitive that no matter what you do, somebody is going to make a big deal out of it. Me doing that had zero malicious intent," Aldean, 39, said during an interview with Billboard, which was published on Thursday, September 8.
"I get that race is a touchy subject, but not everybody is that way," he continued. "Media tends to make a big deal out of things. If that was disrespectful to anyone, I by all means apologize. That was never my intention. It never crossed my mind."
Aldean went on to explain how the costume came together. He found other pieces of the outfit (a gold chain and wig) at a store and his wife, makeup artist, Brittany Kerr, painted his face so he could go unrecognized in public. (The couple would later marry in March 2015.)
The "Lights Come On" singer isn't the only star to come under fire for donning blackface. Back in 2013, Julianne Hough wore dark makeup when she went as Orange Is the New Black character Crazy Eyes. Emmy winner Uzo Aduba plays the character in the Netflix series.
The Dancing With the Stars judge, 28, wore the offensive costume at a Halloween party in Beverly Hills. As Us Weekly exclusively revealed, fellow attendee Isla Fisher was "mortified" when she saw Hough and told her to wipe it off.
Hough spoke out about the incident via Twitter. "I am a huge fan of the show Orange Is the New Black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created," she wrote at the time. "It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."
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