David Byrne has apologized for wearing black and brown face in a 1984 promotional video for the Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense. In the clip, Byrne portrays a series of different characters interviewing himself, including some that are people of colour.
Byrne, who rarely uses social media for personal use, took to Twitter to address the video. “I’d just about forgotten about this skit and I’m grateful that it has been brought to my attention,” he wrote. “To watch myself in the various characters, including Black- and brownface, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement that showed a lack of real understanding. It’s like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else—you’re not, or were not, the person you thought you were.”
“We have huge blind spots about ourselves – well, I certainly do,” he added. “I’d like to think I am beyond making mistakes like this, but clearly at the time I was not. Like I say at the end of our Broadway show American Utopia ‘I need to change too’..and I believe I have changed since then.”
Read David Byrne’s tweets below, and scroll down to watch the clip in question.
Recently a journalist pointed out something I did in a promo video skit in 1984 for the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. In the piece I appear as a number of different characters interviewing myself, and some of the characters portrayed are people of color.
— DavidByrne.com (@DBtodomundo) September 1, 2020
To watch myself in the various characters, including black and brown face, I acknowledge it was a major mistake in judgement that showed a lack of real understanding. It’s like looking in a mirror and seeing someone else- you’re not, or were not, the person you thought you were.
— DavidByrne.com (@DBtodomundo) September 1, 2020
One hopes that folks have the grace and understanding to allow that someone like me, anyone really, can grow and change, and that the past can be examined with honesty and accountability.
— DavidByrne.com (@DBtodomundo) September 1, 2020
