Julianne Hough tries to dance the way out of this mess.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” professional took to social media to express her regret for a 2013 Halloween costume where she wore the black face amid criticism of her new CBS show, “The activist “.
The 33-year-old will co-host the competition series, alongside Usher and Priyanka Chopra, who will judge competing activists to promote their various causes.
In a lengthy Instagram post she shared Tuesday, actress “Footloose” apologized for the show, as well as for the time she disguised herself as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, played by Uzo Aduba, of “Orange Is the New Black “.
“The last few days have been a powerful demonstration of real-time activism,” Hough began. “Thank you for using your voices, calling me, your responsibility and your sincerity. I am listening deeply with my heart and mind open.”
Hough summed up people’s criticisms of the program: the concept valued “performative” work, “promoted pseudoactivism above real activism,” and “felt deaf.” In addition, “the hosts were not qualified to assess activism because we are famous and not activists.”
She continued, “And that’s why there’s a sense of insult, dehumanization, insensitivity, and pain that’s rightly felt. I don’t claim to be an activist and I wholeheartedly agree that the judging aspect of the show was missing and, moreover, that I am not qualified to act as a judge “.
Hough then noted that “many people only become aware” of his 2013 black face scandal, “which only added insult to injury.”
“Wearing the black face was a bad choice based on my own white privilege and my own white body bias that hurt people and is something I regret having done to date,” he wrote. “However, the grief I live with pallor compared to the experiences of so many. My commitment has been to reflect and act differently. Not perfectly, but I hope that with a more developed understanding than racism and white supremacy are detrimental to ALL people. “
The actress stated, “I’m still listening because it’s a messy and awkward conversation, and I’m committed to being here for all of this.”
“I find it important to share that the original reason I logged into this program was that I was very excited to be a part of something that stands out and that I focus on sharing the work of activists on a larger platform.” added. “In doing so, I felt it would help educate, mobilize and inspire people around the world to participate in activism because many worthy causes need attention, funding and, most importantly, the power to effect real change.”
“The Activist” will premiere on October 22 and will air over five weeks.