SMDH: 12 Celebrities Who Were Caught In Blackface

Julianne Hough, Robert Downey Jr., Joy Behar, and more.

Celebrities Who Were Caught In Blackface - For decades, it appears as celebrities who aren't Black rear their problematic heads by, in some way, indulging in the age-old practice of blackface, only to apologize for their actions, later. From the likes of acotrs Julianne Hough and Robert Downey Jr., to The View host Joy Behar, here are a few who we hope learned their lesson.(Photos from left: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for GLAAD, Robert Kamau/GC Images, Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

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Celebrities Who Were Caught In Blackface - For decades, it appears as celebrities who aren't Black rear their problematic heads by, in some way, indulging in the age-old practice of blackface, only to apologize for their actions, later. From the likes of acotrs Julianne Hough and Robert Downey Jr., to The View host Joy Behar, here are a few who we hope learned their lesson.(Photos from left: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for GLAAD, Robert Kamau/GC Images, Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder - Once considered acceptable stage make-up, blackface went the way of the N-word in terms of igniting controversy. Our list of actors who have ruffled feathers by appearing in blackface starts with Robert Downey, Jr. In the spoof comedy Tropic Thunder, the A-lister played a dramatic actor so dedicated to his craft, that he donned dark makeup and a wooly wig to play a Black soldier in Vietnam. Though the film was a comedy, it definitely rubbed some folks the wrong way. (Photo: DreamWorks)

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Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder - Once considered acceptable stage make-up, blackface went the way of the N-word in terms of igniting controversy. Our list of actors who have ruffled feathers by appearing in blackface starts with Robert Downey, Jr. In the spoof comedy Tropic Thunder, the A-lister played a dramatic actor so dedicated to his craft, that he donned dark makeup and a wooly wig to play a Black soldier in Vietnam. Though the film was a comedy, it definitely rubbed some folks the wrong way. (Photo: DreamWorks)

John Slattery in Mad Men - One of television's most controversial shows crossed a truly uncomfortable line when it put cavalier ad man Roger Sterling in blackface for the episode "My Old Kentucky Home." Though actor John Slattery described the scene as "horrible" to shoot, he agreed to do it because it was "so commonplace" during the 1960s, the era in which Mad Men is set. (Photo: Mad Men via AMC)

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John Slattery in Mad Men - One of television's most controversial shows crossed a truly uncomfortable line when it put cavalier ad man Roger Sterling in blackface for the episode "My Old Kentucky Home." Though actor John Slattery described the scene as "horrible" to shoot, he agreed to do it because it was "so commonplace" during the 1960s, the era in which Mad Men is set. (Photo: Mad Men via AMC)

Judy Garland in Everybody Sing - Years before she became America's sweetheart in The Wizard of Oz, Garland played a character in blackface for this 1938 musical. To play ragamuffin child Opal Pearl Washington, Garland had to don blackface and a wig. Garland also performed in blackface in 1939's Babes in Arms and 1941's Babes on Broadway. (Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Judy Garland in Everybody Sing - Years before she became America's sweetheart in The Wizard of Oz, Garland played a character in blackface for this 1938 musical. To play ragamuffin child Opal Pearl Washington, Garland had to don blackface and a wig. Garland also performed in blackface in 1939's Babes in Arms and 1941's Babes on Broadway. (Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Tommy Davidson in Bamboozled - Never one to shy away from pushing audiences' buttons, Spike Lee turned racial stereotypes on their head in his 2000 satire, about a disgruntled television producer who launches a modern-day minstrel show and is horrified when the program becomes a huge success. Davidson and Savion Glover star as a pair of hobo street performers recruited for the show, and may be the only ones to recognize the irony of their blackface makeup. (Photo: New Line Cinema)

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Tommy Davidson in Bamboozled - Never one to shy away from pushing audiences' buttons, Spike Lee turned racial stereotypes on their head in his 2000 satire, about a disgruntled television producer who launches a modern-day minstrel show and is horrified when the program becomes a huge success. Davidson and Savion Glover star as a pair of hobo street performers recruited for the show, and may be the only ones to recognize the irony of their blackface makeup. (Photo: New Line Cinema)

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Ted Danson at Friar's Club Roast in New York City - He may have gotten Whoopi Goldberg to laugh, but other audience members at the 1993 Friar's Club Roast were offended when he performed in full blackface. While the event is meant to be no-holds-barred, Montell Williams was among the many who believed Danson went way too far. "I couldn't tell if I was at a roast or at a KKK rally," he later wrote in a letter to the organization. Danson, for his part, did apologize for the tone-deaf performance. (Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage)

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Ted Danson at Friar's Club Roast in New York City - He may have gotten Whoopi Goldberg to laugh, but other audience members at the 1993 Friar's Club Roast were offended when he performed in full blackface. While the event is meant to be no-holds-barred, Montell Williams was among the many who believed Danson went way too far. "I couldn't tell if I was at a roast or at a KKK rally," he later wrote in a letter to the organization. Danson, for his part, did apologize for the tone-deaf performance. (Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage)

Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places - Nearly two decades after the Civil Rights era, casual racism still found its way into entertainment. In this 1980s film, about a preppy commodities broker (Aykroyd) who trades places with a street hustler (Eddie Murphy), the N-word is dropped with regularity and Aykroyd puts on full blackface to play the pot-smoking Rasta.  (Photo: Paramount Pictures)

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Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places - Nearly two decades after the Civil Rights era, casual racism still found its way into entertainment. In this 1980s film, about a preppy commodities broker (Aykroyd) who trades places with a street hustler (Eddie Murphy), the N-word is dropped with regularity and Aykroyd puts on full blackface to play the pot-smoking Rasta.  (Photo: Paramount Pictures)

Bert Williams - A groundbreaking entertainer who was at one point the highest-earning Vaudevillian of his time, this turn-of-the-century Bajan performer frequently performed in blackface. "A black face, run-down shoes and elbow-out makeup give me a place to hide," he once said of his complex relationship with his largely-white audience. (Photo: Courtesy of Library of Congress)

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Bert Williams - A groundbreaking entertainer who was at one point the highest-earning Vaudevillian of his time, this turn-of-the-century Bajan performer frequently performed in blackface. "A black face, run-down shoes and elbow-out makeup give me a place to hide," he once said of his complex relationship with his largely-white audience. (Photo: Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Billy Crystal on The 2012 Oscars - The Academy fired Brett Ratner as host of the Oscars telecast after he made a homophobic slur, but found themselves mired in controversy anyway when longtime host Billy Crystal came out in blackface during a skit paying tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. While the late, great entertainer's family insists they weren't insulted, angry e-mails and tweets proved that many viewers were. (Photo: The Oscars via ABC)

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Billy Crystal on The 2012 Oscars - The Academy fired Brett Ratner as host of the Oscars telecast after he made a homophobic slur, but found themselves mired in controversy anyway when longtime host Billy Crystal came out in blackface during a skit paying tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. While the late, great entertainer's family insists they weren't insulted, angry e-mails and tweets proved that many viewers were. (Photo: The Oscars via ABC)

Cyndi Lauper in "She Bop" - If you blinked, you missed it, but thanks to the power of freeze frame, Cyndi Lauper will never be able to forget her questionable decision to appear in blackface, even for a few seconds, in her '80s music video for "She Bop." The video also pushed the envelope with sexual innuendo and references to LGBT culture. (Photo: Sony Music Entertainment)

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Cyndi Lauper in "She Bop" - If you blinked, you missed it, but thanks to the power of freeze frame, Cyndi Lauper will never be able to forget her questionable decision to appear in blackface, even for a few seconds, in her '80s music video for "She Bop." The video also pushed the envelope with sexual innuendo and references to LGBT culture. (Photo: Sony Music Entertainment)

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Sarah Silverman on The Sarah Silverman Program - The Holocaust, ex-boyfriends and a variety of topics have all been targets of this brunette comedienne, but Silverman didn't win herself many fans in the Black community when she decided to call out racism by donning blackface for a skit. Prompted by a Black waiter who encourages her to "walk a mile in my shoes" after he overhears her moaning about getting dismissed at a white country club for being Jewish, Silverman covers her face in charcoal and calls herself Queen Latifah.  (Photo: The Sarah Silverman Show via Comedy Central)

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Sarah Silverman on The Sarah Silverman Program - The Holocaust, ex-boyfriends and a variety of topics have all been targets of this brunette comedienne, but Silverman didn't win herself many fans in the Black community when she decided to call out racism by donning blackface for a skit. Prompted by a Black waiter who encourages her to "walk a mile in my shoes" after he overhears her moaning about getting dismissed at a white country club for being Jewish, Silverman covers her face in charcoal and calls herself Queen Latifah.  (Photo: The Sarah Silverman Show via Comedy Central)

Julianne Hough - In October of 2013, former Dancing With the Stars pro Julianne Hough shocked the world with disgust when she attended a Halloween part as Uzo Aduba's character, Crazy Eyes, from Orange Is the New Black. Wearing an orage jump suit, bantu knots, and makeup much darker than her complexion, Hough proved to be one of the most obvious culprits of blacface in recent memory.(Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for GLAAD)

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Julianne Hough - In October of 2013, former Dancing With the Stars pro Julianne Hough shocked the world with disgust when she attended a Halloween part as Uzo Aduba's character, Crazy Eyes, from Orange Is the New Black. Wearing an orage jump suit, bantu knots, and makeup much darker than her complexion, Hough proved to be one of the most obvious culprits of blacface in recent memory.(Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for GLAAD)

Joy Behar - The View co-host Joy Behar received mixed reactions from viewers when she revealed back in 2016 that she work makeup darker than her natural skint one to look like a "beautiful African woman" at a Halloween party. While her transformation was not as severe as others, some still took offense to her attending the event as someone of another race.(Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

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Joy Behar - The View co-host Joy Behar received mixed reactions from viewers when she revealed back in 2016 that she work makeup darker than her natural skint one to look like a "beautiful African woman" at a Halloween party. While her transformation was not as severe as others, some still took offense to her attending the event as someone of another race.(Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)