RuPaul’s Drag Race Contestant Apologizes After Getting Called Out For Wearing Blackface: “I Certainly Didn’t Mean To Hurt Anyone”

Pearl Liaison, a contestant from RuPaul’s Drag Race, has apologized following allegations of engaging in blackface.

On Thursday, the season seven finalist addressed a photo that she had previously posted to social media, which portrayed her as a character with darkened skin. Contrarily, she asserted that the images were intended as a satire of excessively tanned individuals reminiscent of the ’90s Britney Spears-inspired Caucasian aesthetic.

“The character I posted this morning was not meant to resemble any other background other than my own. She’s platinum blonde/blue eyes & meant to have 2000’s Britney-esque tan,” Pearl wrote. “I certainly didn’t mean to hurt anyone and will refrain from using any kind of tan at all when creating characters in the future. I’ve removed the post as to not continue to offend people.”

Shortly after, Pearl elaborated on her initial statement in a lengthier Instagram caption.

“It was not my intention to do blackface. I thought the concept of the character would be clear to anyone who saw it. Which was ignorant on my part, for which i am sorry,” she wrote. “Just to be clear, every aspect of the character was inspired by caucasian people. There was no black-influence going on in my mind during the time of conception. But now i see the people that inspired the character are/have been problematic. And by dressing up and parodying as them, i to am contributing to the issue in its own way. Something i hadn’t thought of and don’t want to contribute to.”

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