Jimmy Fallon has issued an apology after footage from a 20-year-old Saturday Night Live "blackface" sketch resurfaced on social media.

In the clip, taken from an SNL sketch back in 2000, the Tonight Show host can be seeing wearing make-up in order to make himself look like black comedian Chris Rock.

You can see footage from the controversial sketch below:

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In response to footage going viral on social media, Fallon, 45, has issued an apology to his 51.9 million Twitter followers, saying the sketch was "unquestionably offensive". Fallon wrote:

"In 2000, while on SNL, I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this.

"I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable."

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The 20-year-old clip was reposted by Twitter user @chefboyohdear, and it was captioned: "NBC fired Megyn Kelly for mentioning blackface. Jimmy Fallon performed on NBC in blackface."

While this is not the first time that the controversial footage has done the rounds on social media, this time the clip was accompanied by the hashtag #jimmyfallonisoverparty.

One Twitter user wrote: "No one is asking ya'll to cancel Jimmy Fallon.

"However, what we are asking from Jimmy is an acknowledgment of his use of blackface, why did he do it and an apology to black people for donning such a racist, oppressive, and downright disgusting overt display of symbolic racism."

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Another Twitter user wrote: "He never acknowledged nor apologized for it. [And] PLS he's not even funny."

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A third added: "Glad these clowns are being exposed."

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However, a fourth Twitter user said the footage resurfacing was proof that no one was safe from questionable past decisions coming back to haunt them.

They wrote: "I know I did not just open Twitter and see that Jimmy Fallon did blackface in 2000. Nobody is safe from Twitter when we got this much time [on] our hands. First Lana, then Doja Cat, and now Jimmy Fallon. Please let me catch my [breath]. #jimmyfallonisoverparty."

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The resurfaced clip comes after Doja Cat was forced to issue a statement denying allegations of racism after chatroom conversations leaked.

Jimmy Fallon issues apology after SNL 'blackface' sketch resurfaces