September 24, 2019September 26, 2019 4min readBy Fatima Ahmed
On Sept. 18, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced allegations of racism after a photo of him wearing brownface surfaced on the internet. Since then, two more photos and one video of a younger Trudeau were released depicting the politician in black and brown face and dressed in racist attire. The incident comes at a politically charged moment in Canada’s history as candidates prepare for the upcoming federal elections on Oct. 21.
The revelations have placed Trudeau’s reelection campaign under scrutiny, and the story has dominated Canadian media since TIME published the exclusive after obtaining a copy of the school’s yearbook https://t.co/hcu2HrFzdu
The initial picture of a 29-year-old Trudeau was taken from a 2001 yearbook at West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver where he was a teacher at the time. In the photos, Trudeau appears to be dressed as a brown-faced Aladdin attending an Arabian Nights themed gala. After the photos were released, the Canadian leader came forward with a third incident in which he wore blackface for his high school talent show to perform a Harry Belefonte song. After the admission, a video of the prime minister wearing blackface was released from an unidentified event in the ‘90s.
Trudeau held an emergency press conference on Wednesday evening and issued an apology.
I take responsibility for my decision to do that. I shouldn’t have done it,” he said. “I should have known better. It was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do and I am deeply sorry.
Since the release of the photos, Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), has remained vocal about the issue of racism in Canada’s politics.
I want you to know that you might feel like giving up on Canada,” Singh said. “I want you to know that you have value, you have worth, and you are loved.
Other candidates have also made their feelings known in the wake of this incident. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer stated that he was shocked and disappointed.
Wearing brownface is an act of open mockery and racism. It was just as racist in 2001 as it is in 2019,” Scheer said. “And what Canadians saw this evening was someone with a complete lack of judgment and integrity and someone who is not fit to govern this country.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May tweeted that she was deeply shocked.
I am deeply shocked by the racism shown in the photograph of Justin Trudeau. He must apologize for the harm done and commit to learning and appreciating the requirement to model social justice leadership at all levels of government. In this matter he has failed.
I am deeply shocked by the racism shown in the photograph of Justin Trudeau. He must apologize for the harm done and commit to learning and appreciating the requirement to model social justice leadership at all levels of government. In this matter he has failed,” she said.
Many are speculating on whether this incident will cause Canada’s leader to resign mid-campaign, which may have adverse effects on the Liberal Party as they trail a few points behind the Conservative party in the polls.
When Trudeau was asked about the possibility of resigning, he said:
There are people who make mistakes in this life and you make decisions based on what they actually do, what they did and on a case-by-case basis. I deeply regret that I did that. I should have known better, but I didn’t.
This answer is especially troubling as these allegations of racism are sure to cost Trudeau his moral high ground on the international stage. Canada will no longer be able to boast of its equality and diversity with nations like North Korea, Iran, Russia, China, and the United States. Furthermore, this is likely going to negatively impact Trudeau’s goal of securing a place at the United Nations Security Council.
Despite the controversy, it appears that Canadians are largely unaffected by the entire incident. In a poll by Abacus Data, 42 percent of Canadians indicated that they weren’t bothered by Trudeau wearing brownface and blackface, which indicates that while the scandal changed the conversations being had in anticipation of the federal election, it did little to actually impact results.
Ultimately, this isn’t a total surprise as Canada has a deep and long history of racism against black and brown people. There is recorded evidence of slavery in the country for 200 years which severely marginalized and disenfranchised the black population. There have also been instances of segregated business practices and the rise of anti-Black groups such as the KKK in the country.
According to an expert, blackface has been recorded in Canadian history as far back as the mid-19th century, at one time the practice was a normalized part of sports, social clubs, summer camps, and school activities.
Canada also has a specifically hostile past with their South Asian population. Starting from the early 1900s, Canadians lobbied for legal and social restrictions on South Asian immigration, employment, housing, education, and civic participation. In 1906, South Asians, mainly Sikhs from Punjab began arriving in Canada in large numbers, leading to anti-Indian sentiments and outright racism. Laws such as the Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908 prohibited immigrants from entering Canada unless they had arrived by the continuous journey, meaning that immigrants were “required to purchase a through ticket to Canada from their country of origin or otherwise be denied entry.” Such laws and regulations largely ended South Asian immigration to the country at the time and these racist attitudes are in effect to this day.
Trudeau’s past actions are of no surprise to those that have suffered through the country’s racism. It is also, sadly, no surprise that the surfacing of such serious allegations will ultimately have no effect on the upcoming federal elections. What it emphasizes, however, is that despite Canada’s declaration of multiculturalism and diversity there remains hidden sentiments of prejudice deep within the nation.
The expansion of digital content across radio, television and the internet has allowed audiences to engage with media rapidly. As technology advances, the entertainment industry has grown exponentially and people have a wealth of information at their fingertips in the blink of an eye. Since high school, Deepa Prashad was fascinated by this power of media and aspired to be an on-air personality who could interact with viewers through creative content whilst representing her Indo Caribbean heritage. After navigating the competitiveness of Canadian broadcast hosting for seven years, Prashad continues to push herself into various modalities of media and add to her growing successes, while championing others to share their own authentic content.
Self-confidence and the desire to show a different perspective on entertainment prompted Prashad to be interested in broadcasting. While initially nervous about her family’s reaction to a nontraditional career path for Indo Caribbean women, Prashad received her parents’ full support and became the first person in her family to study broadcasting at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.
She began applying for television-hosting positions in her first year despite not having any experience or a finished degree, affirming, “I totally believed in myself and my capabilities.”
In an interview with Prashad, we delve into her career path, diverse representation in media and her courage to create and promote content that reflects her individuality.
How did you begin your career in hosting and digital content production?
The kids channel I watched growing up, The Family Channel, was doing a nationwide casting call for their new TV host. The host would host interstitials between shows, digital series, and do TV show and movie interviews. I didn’t have an agent at the time so I applied on my own. I was called in for my first audition ever and it was quite shocking. A room full of 10 to 15 people just observing me as I delivered lines and did mock interviews for fake shows. Two months later, I was officially cast as the host of The Family Channel!
While ecstatic about her first job, Prashad was met with racism. She stated,
Someone else, who applied for the position, made it a point to come up to me in person to say that they hoped I knew the only reason I got the job was because I was brown and the company obviously just needed to fill a quota.
Brushing the words aside, she continued hosting on The Family Channel for five years. She has also worked as an entertainment and food reporter on Canadian shows, Breakfast Television and Cityline. By advocating for herself as capable, personable and multifaceted, she did not shy away from new opportunities to advance her career and showcased herself as a leader who could resonate with broad audiences.
Wanting to explore new horizons, Prashad approached the social media company blogTO and pitched herself to be their first full-time video host focusing on Toronto food hotspots. After being hired, she visited multiple restaurants daily to host, film and edit her own content and curated personalized food videos for viewers to immerse themselves in. Prashad later forayed into the world of radio, one she never thought she would join but quickly fell in love with. She was most recently the first female voice on Toronto’s KISS 92.5 channels, The Roz and Mocha Show. Prashad enjoyed the greater flexibility of being on the radio compared to television and video hosting,
All I had to present was me. It became such a personal experience for me getting on that mic, sharing stories with listeners about the way I was raised, coming from a Guyanese household, being part of an (interfaiths marriage), [etc…] That created an incredibly strong bond between myself, our listeners and our friends that I’m so grateful for.
Tell us about your current position.
“I’m moving onto new adventures now and adding sports reporting under my belt. I will be joining BarDown | TSN to cover Formula 1, this includes doing content for TSN in the digital and TV space. I’ve never dabbled in the world of sports, so this is going to be an interesting new road for me.”
What topics are you most passionate about when creating digital content and why?
Food has to be my number one passion when it comes to digital content. Obviously I love eating and trying new things, but food is such a universal language. It connects people, it excites people and often teaches people about different cultures. I love to see how that content can generate conversations and I love to see when people admit they’ve never tried that particular food or cuisine, but added it to their list.
I also love creating Formula 1 content because Formula 1 is a massive passion of mine! I currently Twitch stream playing the Formula 1 video game F1 22. I’ve been on a pursuit to continuously learn more about the sport and to even get better at the game, because let’s be real, I’m terrible at it but I’m also OK with that!
Prashad is not immune to online mockery and negative comments about her work. When making the switch to Formula 1, she was ridiculed by some male viewers over her love of the sport and was inundated with comments like “Go back to the dishes” or “Go do laundry where you belong.” Antiquated and sexist notions about being a working woman in the media led to her looks being graded; there were comments regarding her extroverted personality and rampant discussions over her weight. There was a moment in her career where Prashad admits,
I actually wanted to make changes to myself — try to be a little less outgoing, not be so loud, change my hosting style from this incredibly bubbly style to a more laid back informative take.
Drawing on her self-belief, she soon realized that, “This doesn’t work for me. I began to appreciate all my quirks.”
Is there an area of hosting or content production that you believe you’re better at?
I really love to host digital content in particular because there’s a certain freedom that comes with it. I don’t always have to be prim and proper like sometimes I do need to do for TV. I can be me — loud, goofy, and incredibly dorky. I never want to have two different personas — one for the public eye, and then a private. On social media, what you see is exactly what you get. Digital content has allowed me to love myself even more.
Prashad plans to continue in the industry for the foreseeable future. She recognizes the impact of being an Indo Caribbean woman at the forefront of media and defines her success as “…I can continue to represent my culture and how I make others feel.” Her best moments are connecting with others through their lived experiences and offering a different lens on growing up in Canada.
How did you feel breaking into the industry as a woman of color?
What a great feeling that was, and even better, being an Indo Caribbean woman. I went through my fair share of hardships. I’ve faced racism, sexism and bullying throughout my journey of getting to where I am today. But, I have stood up for myself every single time. I will never allow myself to be walked all over. And believe me, people have attempted MANY times. But I pick myself back up and continue along my way.
I think it really hit me that I was making an impact when I started to hear from people how much they related to my childhood stories, the way I was brought up, the movies I watched as a kid. It’s those moments that made me realize I accomplished my goal.
How has your background influenced your interest in hosting and digital content production?
I never saw people like me in the media growing up. I always wanted to change that. I didn’t feel that I had anyone I could personally connect with when I watched TV. And to me that was always so mind blowing because the media, although so broad, is such a personal industry.
I have always been proud to say on air that I’m a Guyanese woman. I have made it a point to fight for more Caribbean content on air. I’ve made it a point to share stories about my family, where they came from, and even the experiences I’ve had growing up in a Guyanese family. Promoting Caribbean culture in general has always been important to me. And progress has been made! At my previous radio job, I pushed incredibly hard to start interviewing Caribbean artists and to highlight them. I had the opportunity to interview artists like Sean Paul, Kes and Konshensand those interviews aired nationally which was massive.
Prashad often infuses cultural content into her work by showcasing Indian and Caribbean food, offering Bollywood movie recommendations, detailing her trips to Guyana, talking about new music and sharing information about Caribbean events in Toronto. She does not believe that cultural content needs to be pared down for the masses but instead advocates for aspiring Indo Caribbean creators to keep releasing diverse and authentic content that is representative of themselves.
She notes that the Indo Caribbean experience is not a monolith and that,
We need more representation! What feels most authentic to you can be vastly different from other content creators. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way of creating content, but the best version of content you’re going to create is when you’re being true to who you are, and having fun.
At only 27 years old, Prashad’s journey has taken her across multiple forms of media. From interviewing Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities to hosting various television shows and being an online and radio voice, she continues to explore different mediums as a means of storytelling and connection. Hardships were plenty during Prashad’s rise to fame, but a steady belief in herself and a willingness to take on new endeavors with authenticity have provided her the grit to overcome challenges.
Prashad is eagerly awaiting to leap into her next digital venture and is actively commending more Indo Caribbean content creators to step into the spotlight with their own personal stories.
