Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP Images
New York Republican representative Mike Lawler, who is locked in a tight reelection battle that will help determine control of the House, wore blackface as part of a Michael Jackson Halloween costume during his college years, the New York Times published on Thursday. The photos, reportedly taken in October 2006, show Lawler wearing a jacket that recalls the pop superstar’s iconic Thriller outfit while striking one of Jackson’s signature poses. A source familiar with the issue told the paper that the then-20-year-old Lawler, who was attending Manhattan College, borrowed bronzer from his female classmates to visibly darken his skin as seen in the photos.
In a statement to the Times, Lawler appeared to confirm that the photos are real, telling the outlet that the costume was “the sincerest form of flattery,” an extension of his lifelong appreciation for the musical artist. “The ugly practice of blackface was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “Let me be clear, this is not that.” Lawler continued, “I am a student of history and for anyone who takes offense to the photo, I am sorry.”
Lawler’s intense Michael Jackson fandom has been documented. In 2023, the Daily Beast revealed that Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli helped an 18-year-old Lawler get into the courtroom for Jackson’s sexual-abuse trial in Santa Barbara County, California, in April 2005. Per the Daily Beast, Taraborrelli recounts the story in his 2009 book Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, describing Lawler as “an ardent Jackson admirer” who knew the details of the case even better than the biographer did. In Taraborrelli’s telling, Lawler was “so disgusted” during the testimony of the mother of one of the alleged victims that he “couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath.” The outburst got Lawler removed from the courtroom.
The Times story could hardly come at a more inopportune time for the congressman, who, after his shock upset of former DCCC chairman Sean Patrick Maloney in 2022, is seeking a second term in the state’s 17th Congressional District covering Rockland County. Lawler is currently locked in a tight race with his Democratic opponent Mondaire Jones, a Black former representative who had previously held the seat before opting to run in a new district created by a controversial redistricting process. The Cook Political Report, which rates political races, currently has Lawler’s seat listed as a toss-up, indicating a tough path to reelection.
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