Nick Cannon is once again defending the white alter ego he created to promote his upcoming album.
The America’s Got Talent host — who created a controversy when he posted Instagram photos and videos in which he’s sporting whiteface, red hair, a beanie hat and plaid shirt — told Good Morning America that his character isn’t the same as blackface.
VIDEO: Nick Cannon Wears Whiteface to Plug ‘White People Party Music’
“They’re using this term ‘whiteface,’ like I don’t even know what that is,” Cannon said. “I know ‘blackface’ was a term that was created in 1869 to describe offensive minstrel shows. ‘Whiteface,’ if you look it up and Google it, it’s a ski slope in upstate New York. I was doing a character impression. Blackface is about oppression.”
He went on to repeat one of the many social media defenses he made after posting the photos and videos, saying “There’s a big difference between humor and hatred.”
He also said that one of the reasons he created what he knew would be a controversial character is because of people’s sensitivity about race.
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“The mission was to have fun, and yes, put it out there that we have issues with race in this country and in this world, but it doesn’t have to be with hatred,” Cannon added.
The AGT host, whose album White People Party Music drops Tuesday, also talked about wife Mariah Carey‘s recent birthday celebration and his own health after being diagnosed with lupus in 2012.
Watch Cannon’s full interview on GMA below.
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