Celebrity2 min(s) read
What Macaulay Culkin's Halloween costume actually was after being accused of 'blackface' – and it's not what people thought
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Actor Macaulay Culkin came under fire for a photo in his Halloween costume - but most people completely missed what he was actually dressed as.
The Home Alone star, 46, took to Instagram to share a photo of him dressed as a soldier, with an entirely painted face, as he captioned the snap: "War. War never changes. Happy Halloween y’all."
While paparazzi photos from the day showed that Macaulay's face was painted a bright green, the lighting in the room he took the photo in had fans doing a double take.
Some accused it of being too close to blackface, writing: "I get what it is, but like you might wanna a get a shot in better lighting if it's not the color it looks like," and: "MACAULAY CLARIFY THAG IT’S GREEN PAINT MACAULAYYYYYYYYYY."
One wrote: "Blackface in the big 26," while someone else added: "It did take me a moment to realise your skin is green and not brown!"
Others compared him to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tropic Thunder character, writing: "You went too Robert Downey Jr.", and: "I thought you were the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude for a moment."
Another added: "Regardless of what the reference is or was supposed to be, in today's climate this seems like it can easily be read in very poor taste."
Some followers immediately clocked that he was supposed to be one of the green toy soldiers from Toy Story, as his fiancée Brenda Song was dressed as Jessie, whle one of their sons was Buzz Lightyear.
However, the part that many people missed was that in the photo he shared, Macaulay was actually emulating the Two Thousand Yard Stare, an iconic image created by war artist Thomas C. Lea, which is widely used as a meme.
The 1944 painting of a nameless Marine at the Battle of Peleliu, is based on a real-life Marine who was suffering with shellshock or PTSD.
The fans who managed to work it out commented: "This is why media literacy and historical understanding are so important," and: "You guys he's not Robert Downey in Tropic Thunder. He's a painting 'Two Thousand Yard Stare' by artist Tom Lea."
Others commented: "The divide in these comments between the well read and the chronically online is astounding," and: "Wow it's sad ppl think this is anything other than the thousand yard stare."
So there you have it - while the lighting may not have done the look many favors, Macaulay was in fact covered in green face paint.