Man who shared Trudeau blackface photo says Canadians had a right to see it

CBC News

Michael Adamson says he had been aware of gossip surrounding the existence of the photo

The man who says he sent the infamous blackface photo of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to Time magazine said he did so because the Canadian public had a right to see it.

Last week, the American newsmagazine dropped a bombshell on the Canadian election campaign when it reported that Trudeau dressed in blackface and a turban back in 2001 for a gala event West Point Grey Academy, the private B.C. school Trudeau taught at 18 years ago.

Time reported that it had obtained the photo from Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson, who was identified as being “part of the West Point Grey Academy community,” but Adamson himself has remained silent.

Until now. Adamson released a statement Friday addressing the controversy.

“Earlier this month I communicated with a reporter from Time magazine regarding the existence of a photograph showing Justin Trudeau wearing brownface at an event while he was a teacher at West Point Grey Academy,” he said in a written statement.

Michael Adamson, left, and his wife, Hisami Kumi Adamson. (Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning)

“As a past member of the WPGA community, I had been aware of gossip surrounding the existence of this photograph and was in a position to provide a copy of it from the school yearbook to the Time reporter.”

Adamson said he has never been a member of a political party and received no payment for releasing the image.

“My decision to provide it to Time magazine was motivated solely by the belief that the Canadian public had a right to see it,” he said.