Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, admitted Wednesday to wearing blackface at a college party in 1980, further ensnaring the state’s leadership in chaos.

The news broke after Herring called an emergency meeting with the state’s legislative black caucus Wednesday morning.

“In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song,” the 57-year-old said in a statement after the meeting.

“It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because if our ignorance and glib attitudes — and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others — we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup,” he said.

The admission was a stunning development as the state’s top two officials are already facing their own controversies over a racist photo and a sexual assault allegation respectively.

“This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct,” Herring said.

Herring has not yet made a decision whether he will step down as attorney general, saying it will depend on the discussions that ensue in the coming days.

He is second in line after Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax to lead the state if Gov. Ralph Northam bows to increasing pressure to resign over the controversy stemming from a photo on his medical school yearbook page that shows one man dressed up in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan garb. Northam denies he was in the photo, but did admit he wore blackface for a Michael Jackson costume in the 1980s.

Notably, Herring had joined the chorus of Democrats calling on Northam to resign, despite admitting in his statement Wednesday that his own past has “haunted [him] for decades.”

Fairfax is also embattled in controversy after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2004. Fairfax has denied the allegation.

“That I have contributed to the pain Virginians have felt this week is the greatest shame I have ever felt,” Herring’s statement said. “No matter where we go from here, I will say that from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply, deeply sorry for the pain that I cause with this revelation.”

By Wednesday afternoon, Herring stepped down as co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association.