NY high school students’ blackface parody of Chris Brown, Rihanna criticized

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A pep rally skit by three white high school students who wore blackface and parodied Chris Brown’s arrest for assaulting Rihanna has officials in the largely white New York district vowing to set clearer expectations for school events.

An alumnus, Matthew Dishler, posted a photo from the skit online. He says Tuesday that while he doesn’t believe the students meant to offend, he was surprised that administrators didn’t intervene. Dishler says someone should have stopped both the use of blackface and the idea of drawing laughs from domestic violence.

Superintendent Joseph Yelich says the short skit was one of several pop culture parodies at Friday’s pep rally at Waverly High School, near the Pennsylvania border. He says he’s using the episode to establish clearer expectations going forward.