America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon has created a character called Connor Smallnut, which is him, a black guy, in whiteface, for a new musical project, and he's taking some flak for it online.
Cannon is married to Mariah Carey and have twins that were born in April 2011.
Cannon has been posting photos and videos of himself as Smallnut on his Instagram and Twitter feeds to promote the release of his upcoming album, called White People Party Music, a kind of parody performed by the Smallnut character.
A sample song title from the album -- "Pajama Pants."
Reviews of Cannon's 'whiteface' gag are mixed:
- It makes me incredibly uncomfortable to see people do this. It's not clever, it's not funny, it's just wrong.
- Don't forget how Ted Danson got skewered and almost ended his career for presenting at an awards banquet in blackface.
- We have over 100 years of White folks consistently doing blackface, many still do it at your top universities in "honor" of Black history month (Watermelon and Fried Chicken party). One guy does it to prove some kind of point, and people get all pissy. Break your own streak before before accusing one of hypocrisy.
Spin Magazine reviews the album:
Nick Cannon is making an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) album. It seems like a pretty cut-and-dried story: The guy who hosts America's Got Talent attempts to extend his career by shamelessly jumping on America's hottest music trend. But there may be more to Cannon's EDM album than meets the eye. Specifically: Is Nick Cannon making a satirical EDM album in order to troll fans?