UFC fighter Conor McGregor’s family denied that his mom, Margaret, wore Blackface on Halloween and reps called it “wrong” and “unfortunate.”
McGregor’s family has been facing backlash after a now-deleted photo of Margaret wearing Blackface was shared on Oct. 31. The UFC star himself was even seen standing next to her, donning all smiles, The Daily Mail reported. His sister, Erin, initially shared the disturbing image via her Instagram Story with the caption, “Mad Magzer loving the Halloween vibe [laughing emojis].”
The photo was reportedly taken at a party via The Black Forge Inn in Dublin. Naturally, it was met with outrage, as many fans accused McGregor’s family of being racist. However, he insisted that his mother wasn’t wearing Blackface but instead, had Black spiders painted on his face to match her Halloween outfit.
“The McGregor family loves Halloween,” a spokesperson for them told The Sun. “Mrs McGregor had spiders painted on her face since her costume was a ghoul risen from the grave…Any other interpretation was just wrong and truly unfortunate.”
This isn’t the first time the UFC fighter has been accused of racism. Back in 2015, he reportedly taunted Brazilian fighter Jose Aldo saying Aldo was “from the favelas”–a Brazilian hood that was created by former African slaves on the outskirts of the nation’s cities.
“When I’m done. I’m going to turn his favela into a Reebok sweatshop,” McGregor said, referencing his sponsorship deal with the Boston-based sports company. He even said, at a tour stop in Rio de Janeiro days prior, that, “If this was a different time, I would invade his favela on horseback and kill anyone that was not fit to work.”
His rhetoric reflects the Irish community’s historically racist past, as they’ve been notorious for discriminating against Blacks. In Irish areas like parts of Boston, residents have even accused African Americans of using the race card for not embracing their culture. However, strides toward alleged inclusivity are being made, like the appointment of now-Boston police commissioner Michael Cox–a Black officer who was beat up by cops in 1995.
