Woman who wore ‘blackface’ for Prince tribute denies being racist

‘People have taken it in the wrong way,’ she insists after event organisers told her to scrub off make-up or leave 80s event

(Ewan McAndrew)

A woman who “blacked up” as musician Prince for an 80’s tribute night has denied being racist after organisers threatened to remove her from the event unless she wiped the foundation off her face.

Catherine McBride wore the dark make-up, a wig and flamboyant clothing in honour of the pop icon for the “80’s Mania” event in Glasgow on Saturday evening.

The mother-of-three was told by staff at the city’s Pavilion Theatre that a number people had complained about her outfit.

“The lady was really polite and took me to one side to say they had received six complaints. Because I had dark make-up on my face, some people weren’t happy,” she told the Daily Record.

“I was told I had to remove it or leave, so I had to rub it off with kitchen roll because there was nothing else.”

Ms McBride, 47, said she had worn the same outfit on a previous occasion “and nobody said a word”, and insisted those who complained were overreacting.

“People have taken it in the wrong way,” she said. “I’m certainly not a racist.

“What happened ruined my night. I was only trying to have a laugh and would never have deliberately set out to cause any offence to anyone.”

Iain Gordon, a manager at the theatre, told the paper staff intervened after members of the public said they were not comfortable with Ms McBride’s face paint.

“We received complaints and didn’t want the situation to escalate,” he said. “We decided to ask the individual to remove the make-up, which she agreed to do.”