Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam rejected calls to resign and took back his words admitting he’d been in a racist yearbook photo — even as he fessed up to putting shoe polish on his face while imitating Michael Jackson years ago.

“I am simply asking for the opportunity to demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt that the person I was is not the man I am today,” Northam told reporters Saturday at the governor’s mansion in Richmond. “I am asking for the opportunity to earn your forgiveness.”

The Democrat also came forward with the shocking admission that he’d darkened his face while impersonating the King of Pop during a dance competition in Texas in 1984.

“I look back now and regret that I did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that,” he said.

Northam tried to offer an explanation for why the day before, he admitted to being in a photo of a man in blackface standing next to a person in a KKK costume in the 1984 yearbook for his alma mater, Eastern Virginia Medical School.

The pediatric neurologist-turned-governor claimed he was acting on his “first instinct to reach out and apologize,” but after consulting with family members and former classmates, realized he wasn’t in fact in the photo.

“When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page,” Northam said Saturday. “But I believed then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.”

After the racist photo surfaced Friday on conservative news site Big League Politics, Dems were quick to urge Northam to step down

Presidential hopefuls including Sens. Cory Booker (NJ), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) were leading the pack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Vice President Joe Biden also called for Northam’s resignation.

Dem National Committee Chairman Tom Perez was not swayed by Northam’s shifting story.

“It is clear that Ralph Northam has lost [Virginians’] trust and his ability to govern,” he tweeted.

“It’s time for Ralph Northam to step aside and let Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax serve Virginians.”

The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus also rejected Northam’s plea to stay in office.

“We amplify our call for the governor to resign,” the group declared.

“He has irrevocably lost the faith and trust of the people he was elected to serve.”

Friday’s firestorm exploded days after Republicans accused Northam of advocating “infanticide” for supporting late-term abortions in certain circumstances.