Julianne Hough blackface controversy in 2013 explained as actress apologizes amid 'The Activist' backlash

As CBS announces its new show The Activist alongside Usher, Priyanka Chopra and Julianne Hough as judges, the latter is amongst the three facing intense backlash. Hough, however, went online to agree that she is not “qualified” to host a show about activism after infamously wearing a blackface in 2013.

The Dancing With the Stars alum posted on Instagram yesterday to discuss being inexperienced when it comes to activism.

Meanwhile, the heavily criticized The Activist show will see the participants "compete in missions, media stunts, digital campaigns and community events" to "bring meaningful change to one of three urgent universal causes: health, education and the environment."

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Why is Julianne Hough being called out for judging The Activist?

The 33-year-old dancer was heavily criticized in 2013 after wearing a blackface by dressing up as Netflix’s Orange is the New Black character Suzanne Warren, who was popularly called “Crazy Eyes" in the show. Julianne Hough was seen with darkened skin as she portrayed the character for Halloween.

Uza Aduba, who played Crazy Eyes on the show, went on to react to Hough’s Halloween costume in 2013. She told E! News:

"I think maybe it was an unfortunate event, but she (Julianne Hough) apologized and I feel like we can all move on."

Julianne Hough’s recent Instagram post read that she does not “claim” to be an activist and “wholeheartedly” agrees that she should not be playing the judge. She said that the judging aspect of The Activist “missed the mark.”

She continued:

“I’m not qualified to act as judge.”

The Utah-native also recognized that many netizens were highlighting her past mistake “which only further added insult to injury”. Speaking of her regretful decision, Julianne Hough said:

"Wearing blackface was a poor choice based on my own white privilege and white body bias that hurt people and is something that I regret doing to this day."

As Julianne Hough reflected on her past mistake and “being committed to act differently”, she said:

"Not perfectly, but hopefully with a more developed understanding that racism and white supremacy is harmful to ALL people."

The professional dancer, who acted in Footloose, went on to explain why she decided to be part of the show. She also said that she was “really excited” to highlight the work of hard-working activists on a large platform.

She wrote:

"In doing so, I felt it would help educate, mobilize and inspire people around the world to get involved in activism because many worthy causes need attention, funding and most importantly, the power to effect real change.”

The Activist is receiving online backlash from many. Hough acknowledged that the internet thought it was "performative, promoted pseudo-activism over real activism, felt tone-deaf."

She went on to reiterate that the judges of the hosts were “celebrities and not activists.”

Julianne Hough also added in her lengthy Instagram note:

"I heard you say there was hypocrisy in the show because at the root of activism is a fight against capitalism and the trauma that it causes so many people and that the show itself felt like a shiny capitalistic endeavor."

She ended her note by saying:

“I’m going to continue to listen, unlearn and learn and take the time to be fully present with everything that you have all shared because I don’t want to just react. I want to digest, understand and respond in a way that is authentic and aligned with the woman I am becoming.”