Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has issued a statement apologizing for wearing Blackface to impersonate various Black celebrities over the years.

“There is Snow white and the seven dwarfs porn movienothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke," Kimmel said in a statement.

Though the images and footage are not new — most occurred on Comedy Central's The Man Showand KROQ radio in the '90s and early 2000s — backlash grew strong on Twitter after Fox News shared audio of Kimmel impersonating George Wallace in 2013 and admitting to using the n-word in a song. Kimmel's statement does not address Fox directly, but refers to "those who equate apologies with weakness and cheer for leaders who use prejudice to divide us."

“I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last twenty-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show," he added. "I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me. I love this country too much to allow that. I won’t be bullied into silence by those who feign outrage to advance their oppressive and genuinely racist agendas."

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