Upstate salon faces backlash after employee wears blackface for Halloween

ANDERSON, SC (WIS) - An Anderson, South Carolina salon faces extreme backlash after their choice of this year’s Halloween costumes.

Owner of Holmes Hair Salon Keysha Holmes told WYFF News 4 that every year, she goes all out with her employees come Oct. 31.

This year, they dressed up as Michael Jackson over his different stages of life. She said she intended for it to be a tribute to the King of Pop. “It was just for fun,” Holmes said. “It’s Michael Jackson, it’s a costume. They sell that stuff at Halloween stores.”

However, many say that one employee was wearing blackface. Holmes defended her actions and said that she had never heard of blackface before.

“I didn’t never know it was a thing. Ever. She put Covergirl brown makeup on her face,” Holmes said.

Local civil rights activist and candidate for Greenville NAACP president Jalen Elrod told WYFF News 4 you can’t plead ignorance. “There are some people that might think these things are harmless but I think those who do don’t have a full grasp of history of racism in this country,” Elrod said.

This controversy comes on the heels of NBC TV host Megyn Kelly losing her job over her comments about wearing blackface on Halloween. On Friday, NBC announced that it was canceling “Megyn Kelly Today.”