Polish star sparks outrage for using blackface in Kendrick Lamar TV performance
Global News
The karaoke-style reality show is a branch of an international franchise that sees celebrities impersonate musical icons.
Polish singer Kuba Szmajkowski won an episode of a popular reality TV competition on Saturday after he donned blackface and faux cornrows and said the N-word in a cover performance imitating rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Szmajkowski appeared on the TV show Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo (Your Face Sounds Familiar) to perform a rendition of Lamar’s hit song Humble.
The karaoke-style reality show is a branch of a longstanding international franchise that sees celebrities from that country impersonate randomly assigned musical icons.
Szmajkowski, who is white, took to the stage in dark makeup, fake corn rows and a beard reminiscent of Lamar’s own look in the Humble music video. During the televised performance, Szmajkowski, 21, rapped lyrics that included the N-word, which was not censored in the broadcast.
He went on to win Saturday’s episode — the second in Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo‘s 19th season — and was awarded a cash prize of 10,000 PLN (C$3,122). He will continue on in the reality competition for a chance to win the grand prize of 100,000 PLN (C$31,220), which will be donated to a charity of the winner’s choosing.
Immediately, Szmajkowski’s performance inspired outrage in Poland and beyond. Anger was only intensified when he shared a video showing his transformation into Lamar. The post is still live on Instagram.
