Aside from making a public apology on Instagram, axed X Factor NZ judge Willy Moon has stayed largely silent on the controversy that saw him fired from the TV3 show.
However, earlier today it seems he couldn’t resist taking a jab at new judge Shelton Woolright on Twitter. Posting a picture of the I Am Giant drummer with his face covered in black paint, Willy wrote “New Zealand. Pours racist hatred on an opinionated black woman, replaces her with a guy in blackface”.
‘Blackface’ refers to a type of racist entertainment that sprang up during the 19th century, when performers would paint their faces to imitate African people. It’s been mostly condemned as racist today, although as recently as 2013, Dancing With The Stars pro Julianne Hough was criticised for wearing blackface as part of her Halloween costume.
Willy’s tweet was deleted shortly afterwards, but not before several media outlets managed to grab a screenshot of the post.
For his part, Shelton has defended his use of the face paint as part of his stage performance and calls it a “developing concept”.
Willy’s wife Natalia has been making her own references to The X Factor drama on her Instagram, where she posted a photo of Dora the Explorer with a caption that seemed to make fun of her own comments to Joe Irvine.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a doppelgänger in our midst… Dora, how dare you steal my look?!” she wrote.
She followed that up with pictures of Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra and silent film star Louise Brooks, both stars she’s been accused of stealing her look from in the past.
Natalia Kills posted these images on her Instagram.
