Seth Rogen has issued a statement of apology for the seeming use of blackface on the set of his new film ‘Good Boys’.
The actor serves as a producer on the project and TMZ obtained an image that shows a stand-in for child actor Keith L Williams on set, having had his skin tone darkened.
The US website also claims the child was also put in an Afro wig and a fat suit in order to pass as 11-year-old Keith. Although the stand-in actor was also black, his face was darkened to more closely match Williams’ skin colour under the studio lighting.
According to TMZ, one person on set had complained about the situation, but sources connected to the production company Good Universe said it was “not uncommon for lighting purposes to match actors’ skin tones”, and insisted it was not a matter of blackface.
However, Seth deeply apologised for the situation when he responded to the report, claiming he did what he could to put the situation right as soon as he was made aware.
He said in a statement: “I should start by saying this shouldn’t have happened, and I’m terribly sorry it did.
“I won’t give excuses for why it happened. I’ll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it – and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again.
“I’m engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It’s on me to be proactive. Reacting isn’t enough.”
‘Good Boys’ will tell the story of a group of 12-year-old boys in California’s San Fernando Valley who skip school in a quest to fix a broken toy.
It will star ‘Room’ actor Jacob Tremblay as the leader of the group of pals, while it also marks directorial debuts for ‘The Office’ alumni Lee Einsenberg and Gene Stupnitsky.
The film is currently slated for an August 2019 release.