Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) offered her “heartfelt apologies” on Thursday for her participation in a racist sketch when she was an undergraduate at Auburn University decades ago.
Ivey’s apology came after audio of her interview on Auburn’s radio program in the 1960s resurfaced, during which she and her then-fiance described Ivey’s performance in a skit called “Cigar Butts.”
According to the recording, Ivey had worn blue overalls and put “black paint all over her face.”
Ivey said in her statement that she “sincerely” doesn’t remember the interview nor the skit, but that she “will not deny what is the obvious,” according to a local ABC affiliate.
“While some may attempt to excuse this as acceptable behavior for a college student during the mid-1960s, that is not who I am today, and it is not what my Administration represents all these years later,” she said. “I offer my heartfelt apologies for the pain and embarrassment this causes, and I will do all I can – going forward – to help show the nation that the Alabama of today is a far cry from the Alabama of the 1960s.”
Ivey’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
