Every week, there seems to be a new revelation that a white politician wore blackface at some point in the past.
A photo of a city councillor in British Columbia dressed up as Grammy winner 50 Cent for a 2007 Halloween party is now making the rounds on social media.
The photo of Colwood Councillor Ian Ward was first published on a personal family blog maintained by his ex-wife and came to light on Sept. 13. In addition to his hands and face painted black, Ward appears to have gold-colored teeth and is wearing a Washington Bullets basketball jersey, a gold chain, and a wig.
The costume took 45 minutes to complete, according to the November 2007 blog post, which has since been deleted but was archived on the nonprofit Wayback Machine.
“Wednesday was Halloween so after spending 45 mins that morning turning Ian into a black man with stage paint & dropping him off at work (it was freakin hilarious but scared the crap out of Liam who kept crying every time Ian would say something to him), I met up with the mommy group for cookies & coffee and then we all got our little ones dressed in the costumes and headed for the park to get some cutesy pics. Liam went as a monkey and looked absolutely adorable…” his ex-wife wrote in the post.
If the photo isn’t bad enough, Ward’s lengthy apologies on his now-deleted X account attempted to shift the blame elsewhere, as he painted himself as the victim of “cowardly anonymous trolls” and cited “cancel culture.” He believes the photo was circulated in a “politically motivated” attack after his family blog had been hacked and “turned public.” It’s unclear if the blog was ever private, and CTV News Vancouver reported it was public as recently as August 2024.
Ward has been outspoken in his support of Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack last year, and in one deleted apology, he pointed the finger at “anti-semitic, anti-law enforcement, leftist extremists” led by a “local failed musician.” After stating he reported the alleged hack to police, he launched into an apology, admitting the photo was “embarrassing.”
“I offer no defense other than to say that times change, and people change,” he wrote in his statement.
Since the story broke, however, Ward has shifted damage control into high gear and is speaking to news outlets to clear his name. In an emailed statement to Black Press Media, he wrote, “In the intervening years, I have grown significantly as a person, and this episode does not reflect who I am today and how I approach systemic racism and racial issues.”
“While I can honestly say I had no malice or overt prejudice in my heart at that time, it is nonetheless hurtful to many, and I own my mistake,” Ward continued. “It is offensive and shameful, and I apologize to those who have been impacted directly or indirectly by this event,” he stated before promising to “work to be a better person.”
Though blackface persists, this form of mocking caricature declined during the civil rights era, and certainly, by the 2000s, it would seem most people understood it was wrong. When it was revealed by Time that another Canadian politician, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, wore blackface several times in the 1990s and early 2000s, a firestorm ignited when the story broke five years ago.
Ward was elected to the Colwood council in 2022, and this is not his first brush with controversy.
The politician has been criticized in the past for his inflammatory language regarding Gaza and Islam. In one now-deleted X post on December 2023, he wrote, “Islamaphobia = weak term to defend against justifiable criticism of a backwards ideology.”
A municipal spokesperson, Sandra Russell, provided a statement to CTV News Vancouver regarding Ward’s recent blackface incident.
“The City of Colwood does not endorse city representatives making public statements or actions that may be viewed by some as divisive or offensive,” she wrote, adding, “Our code of ethics guides us to be respectful in all interactions, and to protect personal dignity, self esteem, and the wellbeing of others.”
However, she confirmed to the news outlet that there would be no punitive measures against the councillor because the photo was “made in Coun. Ward’s personal capacity and not his municipal capacity.”
