Almost a year later, Jason Aldean is finally talking about his controversial costume.
Aldean caused quite a commotion last year after photos of his Halloween costume surfaced and his rep confirmed it was, in fact, him behind the disguise. Aldean has not spoken about the photo, until now.
Nashville Gab was first to report on the Halloween photo, which featured the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year in dreadlocks, sunglasses, chains, and dark face paint. It was said that he was dressing up as rapper Lil’ Wayne.
In a new interview with Billboard, Aldean opens up about his decision behind the costume and how he feels about it now, a year later.
“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,” Aldean tells the magazine. “Me doing that had zero malicious intent … I get that race is a touchy subject, but not everybody is that way. 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 goes on to explain that he found the costume in a Halloween store and his wife Brittany Kerr, a makeup artist, painted his face so he could “go unrecognized in public”.
His use of dark face paint, which is called blackface, is highly regarded as an offensive act and can be traced back to the 1800s, when white actors who would don it to portray African American characters.
What do you think about Aldean’s 2015 Halloween costume and his comments about it now?
Take a look at the music video for his latest single, “Lights Come On” below.