Oops he did it again… Justin Trudeau apologizes

Ruta Butkute

Last week, just a month before Canada’s prime minister elections, Time magazine published photographs of the current PM Justin Trudeau wearing a "blackface". A "blackface" or "brownface" is a form of theatrical make-up used by non-black/non-brown people, which was immensely popular in the 19th century, but in 2019 - it is almost universally considered plain racist and offensive. 

Source: Time

How did Trudeau respond?

Trudeau did not hesitate to apologize. After all, he is considered Canada’s most apologetic leader. Less than 2 hours after the release of the photographs, Trudeau confessed his deep apologies in a video, which was shared on Twitter. "I regret it deeply," Trudeau said, "I come to reflect on that and ask for forgiveness."

Trudeau acknowledged that what he has done was racist and took full responsibility for it. Or did he? He said his [white] privilege has been a “blind spot” for him, but he has evolved since the incidents. It almost sounds like his privilege is an excuse.

How did the public respond?

Some Canadians were “unfazed” by the images, but others were quite offended. While some residents excuse his behavior because it happened a long time ago and he has done great things since then, other residents use this case to highlight paradoxes in Canadian politics. All in all, the responses could have been a hell of a lot worse. 

Source: Twitter

How well did PR manage this crisis?

As the public is willing to reconcile with Mr. Trudeau, the PR strategy has been quite good given the severity of the crisis. According to Timothy Coombs and Situational Crisis CommunicationTheory (SCCT), in situations where the attribution of responsibility of the crisis is obvious and high, apology and asking for forgiveness is the key primary strategy in attempting to restore reputation. 

The secondary response strategies have been mixed. On the one hand, Trudeau wants to remind people that he is also ‘good’ and what matters is the now – he is sharing his plans for the future if he were to be re-elected. The media is not really picking up on this. Instead, the media hasn’t forgotten that he victimized himself for being ‘too privileged.’ The latter has backfired as several newspapers picked it up and slashed Trudeau’s ‘victimhood’.

Research shows that news media use different frames to frame the crisis than the actual organization, in this case – the political figure and his party. Even though the scandal was pretty straight-forward, the news media kept the issue alive and fresh by re-framing the crisis.

While Trudeau responded to the incident only twice (in the same day) and was consistent with his reportage, the media kept the scandal going for another 5 days, taking a slightly different news angle each time. Nevertheless, communicating more on Trudeau’s behalf would probably keep the issue alive in the media even longer, thus his strategy is quite good.   

How damaging is this scandal?

It is quite ironic that Trudeau, who has positioned himself as an inclusive leader fighting for social justice is now evidently displayed as a contradictive figure. Nonetheless, this scandal probably didn’t sabotage his re-election campaign entirely.

Perhaps Trudeau’s “ethic of care approach” in his communication, as researched by Weiting Tao and Sora Kim, was actually enough to make the public more sympathetic and compassionate towards the crisis. In this approach, communication during a crisis is sensitive and responsive to the emotions and needs of the public. Making a moral appeal to the stakeholders in these types of crises works well to repair a reputation. Trudeau’s extensive apology might have done just that.

All in all, Trudeau managed this crisis very well. Timing is everything. And only time will tell whether this scandal is really a blow, or if it will just blow over.

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About the author: Ruta Butkute is a Corporate Communications Master’s student at the University of Amsterdam. Coming from a Liberal Arts and Science background, she has an interest in race studies and communications and wishes to pursue a career in the non-profit world.