skip to main content

Canadian competitor on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ addresses blackface photo

Posted February 26, 2019 8:31 am.

Last Updated February 26, 2019 9:13 pm.

This article is more than 5 years old.

TORONTO — The first Canadian competitor to be featured on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is owning up to a controversial photo in which the performer appears alongside another drag queen who is in blackface.

Brooke Lynn Hytes says posting the image to Instagram in 2013 was a mistake.

“It recently came to my attention that an old photo of me with another drag queen who is in blackface surfaced,” Hytes says in a message posted Monday to the Instagram account @bhytes.

“This post was irresponsible on my part; it was rooted in ignorance and came from a place of naivety and privilege.”

A poster on Reddit complained about the photo late last week, eliciting a flurry of online condemnations.

Hytes is the drag queen persona of Etobicoke, Ont.-raised performer Brock Hayhoe.

The new season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is set to premiere Feb. 28 on OutTV. The winner gets US$100,000.

The Canadian Press

Submit a Correction

Accessibility Feedback

Top Stories

Sea to Sky Highway closed south of Whistler after multi-vehicle collision

A crash involving multiple vehicles just south of Whistler has closed the Sea to Sky Highway 99 Highway Wednesday. Reports came in to 1130 NewsRadio of the crash around 9 a.m. According to the Sea...

1h ago

South Surrey shooting leaves 1 critical, suspects arrested

One person has been hospitalized in a critical but stable condition after being shot in South Surrey late Tuesday night. The Surrey Police Service says that just after 11:15 p.m., officers got reports...

updated

4h ago

Disruption by pro-Hindutva protester at Surrey Gurdwara sparks concerns

A Sunday congregation at Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar Sahib in Surrey was disrupted last week, raising alarm within the local Sikh community and prompting a police response. Gurdip Singh Samra, president...

2h ago

North Vancouver police investigating 'ignorant' stickers that promote white supremacy

Mounties in North Vancouver say they're investigating after concerning stickers have been placed around the Central Lonsdale neighbourhood. According to the North Vancouver RCMP, the stickers are "promoting...

32m ago

Top Stories

Sea to Sky Highway closed south of Whistler after multi-vehicle collision

A crash involving multiple vehicles just south of Whistler has closed the Sea to Sky Highway 99 Highway Wednesday. Reports came in to 1130 NewsRadio of the crash around 9 a.m. According to the Sea...

1h ago

South Surrey shooting leaves 1 critical, suspects arrested

One person has been hospitalized in a critical but stable condition after being shot in South Surrey late Tuesday night. The Surrey Police Service says that just after 11:15 p.m., officers got reports...

updated

4h ago

Disruption by pro-Hindutva protester at Surrey Gurdwara sparks concerns

A Sunday congregation at Gurdwara Dasmesh Darbar Sahib in Surrey was disrupted last week, raising alarm within the local Sikh community and prompting a police response. Gurdip Singh Samra, president...

2h ago

North Vancouver police investigating 'ignorant' stickers that promote white supremacy

Mounties in North Vancouver say they're investigating after concerning stickers have been placed around the Central Lonsdale neighbourhood. According to the North Vancouver RCMP, the stickers are "promoting...

32m ago

Most Watched Today

1:15

‘We need to fight back’: Canada announces retaliatory tariffs against Trump

Canada’s government announced $29.8 billion in retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25 per cent steel and aluminum tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has leveled.

4h ago

2:13

Are U.S. tariffs' uncertainty impacting the B.C. real estate market?

The BC Real Estate Association says the slow down comes after several months of growing momentum and it says the uncertainty around tariffs is to blame for the shift.

21h ago

0:42

Kicking Horse gondola closed until further notice after fall

An update on Monday’s gondola crash near Golden in British Columbia. According to the Kicking Horse resort, it happened when a lift hanger broke as the cabin was leaving the base terminal.

22h ago

1:41

B.C. bans all U.S. alcohol at government stores

After pulling booze from “red states” last week, B.C. Premier David Eby now says all U.S. alcohol products will be removed from B.C. liquor stores. Jack Morse reports.

1:56

Vancouver mayor under fire over leaked memo to ‘return’ Indigenous people out of Downtown Eastside

The BC Association of First Nations is calling upon Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim to abandon and apologize for what it says is a plan to relocate Indigenous residents in the Downtown Eastside. Kier Junos reports.