Jason Aldean finally spoke out on a photograph that surfaced of him in blackface from a Halloween costume last year.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, the 39-year-old country singer said he never meant anything “malicious” when he dressed up in a wig of long dreadlocks, a bandana, black sunglasses, and painted his face in dark brown make-up, going as the rapper Lil Wayne for Halloween in 2015. (RELATED: Country star Jason Aldean cheats on wife with former ‘American Idol’ contestant)
(photo: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith)
“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 said. “Me doing that had zero malicious intent. I get that race is a touchy subject, but not everybody is that way.” (RELATED: How ‘Bro-Country’ Is Dumbing Down Country Radio)
“Media tends to make a big deal out of things,” he continued. “If that was disrespectful to anyone, I by all means apologize. That was never my intention. It never crossed my mind.”
Aldean said he asked his wife, who is a professional make-up artist, to do the work on his face so that he could go out with friends in public without being recognized.