RuPaul confronted a contestant on Drag Race Down Under after discovering photos online of them performing in blackface.
The 60-year-old drag queen and television personality gave contestant Scarlet Adams the chance to address her actions during this week’s episode of the reality competition.
He told the contestant: "Okay now Scarlet, before you leave there’s something we need to talk about.
"It’s just come to my attention that there are photos of you online performing in blackface. And I want to give you an opportunity to address this."
Scarlet admitted she was a ‘"dumb, ignorant teenager’" when she used blackface in her performances.
The reality show hopeful, who hails from Perth in Australia, insisted she "regrets" her decisions, and apologised to RuPaul and "everyone that I have hurt".
She said: "I can’t deny that that happened. As a dumb, ignorant teenager I made some mistakes that I’m really not proud of, and every day I regret those decisions.
"I regret the fact that I used my platform as a performer to ridicule people who have faced systematic racism for hundreds of years, and I’m so ashamed of the person I once was. I’m really sorry – to you, and to everyone that I have hurt."
And in a confessional, Scarlet said she felt "awful" to know she had hurt other people with her past actions.
She told the cameras: "To know that something that I have done has hurt other people feels awful."
But it turned out to be Scarlet’s lucky day, as RuPaul chose not to ‘cancel’ her.
The star instead chose to use the interaction as a "lesson in humility and accountability".
The famous drag queen said: "Now, I’m sure there are people who would want me to cancel you right here, right now. But I would rather this be a lesson in humility and accountability. And I pray that all of us can learn and grow from our mistakes."
Scarlet was previously slammed online when pictures surfaced of her performing numerous times in blackface, as well as appropriating several cultures including dressing as a geisha and wearing a Native American headdress.
But it seems RuPaul has opted to give her a second chance to prove she really has changed.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under sees drag queens from Australia and New Zealand compete to be named ‘Down Under’s first Drag Superstar’, with the winner bagging a one-year supply of Revolution Beauty Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $30,000.
The show airs in the UK on BBC Three and the BBC iPlayer every Sunday.
