Virginia governor Ralph Northam denies being in racist photo - day after apologising for being in racist photo

Virginia governor Ralph Northam denies being in racist photo - day after apologising for being in racist photo The Democrat is accused of being in a photograph showing a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan costume.

Image: Ralph Northam appeared in a racist photo - or did he?

A Virginia governor has given a news conference to deny appearing in a racist photo - less than a day after apologising for being in the shot.

Ralph Northam had said sorry after a 1984 photograph showing a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe appeared.

Now he has backtracked, telling a room full of reporters: "When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believe, then and now, that I am not either of the people in that photo."

The obvious question from reporters was: what was behind the initial confusion?

"That same year, I did participate in a dance contest... in which I darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume," explained the governor, saying that he had mixed the two memories.


Mr Northam admitted blackening his face with shoe polish and said such behaviour was "commonplace" at the time.

He added that had won the competition - and said he would not resign.

On Friday he confirmed in a statement he was pictured in a costume that was "clearly racist and offensive" and that the behaviour was "not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career".

It was not clear whether Mr Northam was the person wearing blackface or a KKK costume.

In a video tweeted shortly after the written statement, the governor had said he was "deeply sorry" for the photograph.

"I cannot change the decisions I made," he had said. "But I accept responsibility for my past actions and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust."

Ralph Northam apologises for racist photo

Both Republican and Democrat leaders have called for the governor to resign in response to the released picture.

"It doesn't matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat. This behaviour was racist and unconscionable," Democrat Julian Castro, an African American who would assume the governor's office in the event of his departure, tweeted.

"Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government," Democrat Senator Kamala Harris said.

"The governor of Virginia should step aside so the public can heal and move forward together."

Republican State Senator Bryce Reeves said Mr Northam should resign if the photographs were shown to be accurate.

"I hope that this picture is inaccurate and that the governor brings clarity to this issue," he said.

In a tweet after Mr Northam's initial backtrack, Donald Trump suggested the governor's opponent could have a case for malpractice based on the photograph.

"Ed Gillespie, who ran for Governor of the Great State of Virginia against Ralph Northam, must now be thinking Malpractice and Dereliction of Duty with regard to his Opposition Research Staff," he tweeted.

"If they find that terrible picture before the election, he wins by 20 points!"

Mr Northam, an army veteran and child neurologist, provoked a furore last week with a statement advocating for looser late-term abortions in cases where the health of the mother was at risk.

Critics accused him of open support for infanticide, with Republican Ted Cruz calling the comments "heartbreaking".

Mr Northam said his comments had been taken out of context, saying: "I have devoted my life to caring for children and any insinuation otherwise is shameful and disgusting."

But the comments have proved politically explosive in a country where attitudes to abortion are sharply polarised.

Last week, Florida's secretary of state Michael Ertel resigned after being pictured wearing blackface, while dressed as a victim of hurricane Katrina.