We have a new King of the Trolls, you guys.

Rapper, comedian and TV host Nick Cannon has had a busy year preparing the release of a new album, hopscotching on an international DJ tour and promoting his Macy’s tie line.


Before Monday, the 33-year-old and the world were on decent terms, going about their lives with nothing amiss. Then, the following happened, unofficially marking his coronation day:

His new name: Connor Smallnut. 
Maybe you’ve met him. Maybe you are him. And maybe that’s why you, like many others, are pissed off, bro.

You've heard of blackface, the name for when someone (particularly an actor) with light skin uses dark makeup to portray a black person. Think Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, a 2008 film that earned him an Oscar nomination for playing a white character who has his skin color surgically darkened to take on the role of an African-American character.

Cannon, however, uploaded photos of the alter ego — in what social media quickly dubbed as "whiteface" — to Instagram and Twitter to call attention to his forthcoming album, White People Party Music. The album drops April 1 a.k.a. April Fool's Day.

It is the America’s Got Talent host's first album since his 2003 eponymous debut release.

Music aside, the response to Cannon's ploy of marketing White People as a white person has ranged from "This is hilarious" to "This is racist" — with everything in between:

I love how offended people are by @NickCannon putting on white face. It's a brilliant way to market his album #whitepeopleproblems #kudos

— Mallory Davis (@Maloricious) March 25, 2014

@NickCannon let me relax, have fun, & wear black face. Lets see how everyone reacts

— James Joe (@jamesjoe) March 24, 2014

Of course Nick Cannon in white face is racist. Cause ya know, CENTURIES of white oppression.

— Jamie Kilstein (@jamiekilstein) March 25, 2014

The people who are mad about this being racist are mad for the wrong reasons, though.

As a parody, sure Cannon’s foray into whiteface is a belated and cheap joke. But as a PR strategy, it is, as some people have already mentioned, a stroke of genius.


In the connected, digital age, Cannon is using multiple social media platforms (he has more than 6 million followers across his platforms) in a way people can relate to. Not only is he previewing his product with savvy self-promotion, he's doing so by playing the recognizable part of the Internet troll. This PerezHilton.com headline sums up how: "Nick Cannon Plus Whiteface Equals A Crap-ton Of Internet Controversy!"

It's genius the same way Kanye West calling himself Steve Jobs is genius; it gets people talking. Seconds after Cannon’s first upload, scads of Twitter and Instagram users responded to his antics by looking up his album, engaging with him, retweeting him and reusing his hashtags.

Cannon: 1, Haters: 0.

His first Instagram post grabbed more than 12,000 likes — a high compared to his averages on the photo-sharing app, which dip between the 6,000 to 7,000 levels.

He continued to upload pictures and videos introducing his new character, shamelessly plugging his forthcoming project and riling opponents:

Many of his ensuing tweets, especially the tongue-in-cheek ones, were retweeted and favorited upward of 100 times each. He proceeded to interact with many of his Twitter followers by retweeting their responses, and sending jokes and jabs their way.

News outlets covered the Smallnut situation by asking readers what they thought about Cannon’s marketing:

Is Cannon’s use of whiteface to market his product racist? No. Is it offensive and politically incorrect? Yes. Does this make it okay to laugh at? That depends on your view of entertainment acts throughout history, particularly blackface and whiteface as entertainment.

That the Smallnut character is offensive is evidenced by the immense amount of backlash the artist has already received. It has offended people; therefore it is offensive.

Whiteface is offensive to some because people — black and white — believe that the practice perpetuates and caricatures racial stereotypes, and that it stokes the fire for race-baiting.

"@jamesjoe: @NickCannon let me relax, have fun, & wear black face. Lets see how everyone reacts" Do it! I dare you.

— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) March 24, 2014

Some have attempted to elucidate this by comparing whiteface to blackface, which is not an apt comparison.

Blackface is offensive for the same reasons whiteface is offensive. But blackface is sometimes deemed racist because not only does it perpetuate and caricature racial stereotypes, it does so by going an extra step because it harkens back to an oppressive time and setting (though blackface has also been used in ways that some have argued are not racist.

The main difference here is that one is more negatively rooted in history. Blackface became a staple practice in many 19th-century stage production companies because it was common practice before the 1900s for blacks to be represented onstage in minstrel and vaudeville shows by whites, as author and theater historian Larry Stempel notes in his book Showtime. This would change onstage and onscreen in the early 20th century with the rise of popular black actors and entertainers such as Stepin Fetchit and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

"In these entertainments, white northern actors portrayed southern plantation life by burlesquing Negro character types ("Zip Coon," "Jim Dandy") in song, dance, dress and dialect,” Stempel writes. "They did so, moreover — inverting the traditional whiteface makeup of circus clowns — by using burnt cork to blacken their faces, which we view today as intrinsically degrading."

Not long before it was deemed racist by Hollywood and moviegoers, megastars of the dance musical stage such as Al Jolson and Fred Astaire would use blackface to pay homage to successful black stage stars such as Robinson, Stempel writes.

Here's a clip of Jolson’s famous "Mammy" tune:

Here's Astaire's Bojangles act:

Soon, throughout the rest of the early 20th century, blackface would fall out of favor for its absurd and offensive use of makeup, costuming and dialogue (all one needs to do is look at Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn to see why.

The concept of blackface has not only been criticized for close to a century, it has also already been lampooned for that long, too. For decades, black actors have donned blackface, too — both seriously and in a tongue-in-cheek manner (Cannon included, pictured below). They have also donned whiteface.

Most recently, and to popular acclaim, the Wayans brothers used it in 2004’s White Chicks, and Dave Chappelle employed a similar tactic on his Chappelle’s Show at the turn of the century. Before them, there was Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live, and many others before them, reaching back to the mid-1900s with Douglas Turner Ward's A Day of Absence, a one-act play that was famously described as "reverse minstrelsy."

Many other comedians and entertainers have notably transformed themselves to represent different cultures and races for laughs.

Here's John Belushi as Samurai Futaba:

No, Belushi was not Japanese. This skit is featured prominently on his best-of DVD for SNL.

As mentioned earlier, Cannon’s use of whiteface is not inherently racist. It is not referencing an oppressive history or circumstance to put white people down and to claim one race's superiority.

Cannon is a comedian who, like others, includes stereotypes in his wheelhouse. Remember, this is the guy who did Wild 'n Out, which grabbed attention for its rap parody and social commentary. Cannon also makes jokes for shock value. From an entertainment-business standpoint, he’s someone who likes to change the game, and get people talking about his product.

What's important to note here is that Cannon — like actors before him — knows the difference between being racist and telling a joke about race or racism. Cannon is cracking jokes at the expense of, perhaps, one of the main consumers of his music. At best, this makes whiteface a subversive, relevant topic in the conversation of race in America; at worst, this makes it a stale, unwarranted parody that is late by about seven decades.


But bad timing and shoddy execution do not translate to racism.

If there is anything to get angry at with regard to Cannon's publicity stunt, it is not the whiteface that so many have at once attacked and praised.

What is more annoying about this social-media controversy is the celebrity’s response, or lack thereof. Instead of engaging anyone in a true conversation about racism and stereotypes, Cannon has proceeded to giggle to himself and the people who got the joke, like the happiest surfing troll there ever was.


"Duuuude everybody Chil-lax!!!!" ~ Connor Smallnut http://t.co/N0a970Irtl

— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) March 24, 2014




Damn I didn't know it was going to be this hard being White! ... I'm exhausted with all this "privilege" LOL #WhitePeopleProblems

— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) March 24, 2014

 
So if you’re going to get mad at Cannon, get mad at him for passing this publicity stunt off as "having a conversation" about racism. This is what is ridiculous:


I’m so happy we are all having this conversation ! It’s definitely needed!

— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) March 26, 2014

If you’re going to hold him accountable for anything, pester him to have a genuine conversation about racism, and to add something productive to the mix — instead of just laughing at the people who don't get the joke and encouraging bigots to fire back.


A joke is not funny just because someone says so. 


But the hole Cannon has dug himself into, here, is that explaining the whiteface gag is akin to having a magician explain a magic trick or having a comedian explain a punch line; doing so takes away the luster, and spoils the fun.

A quick look at Cannon’s Twitter feed shows social-media method acting at its finest. Until the CD drops next week, he is Connor Smallnut, which makes one think something even bigger could be in store for April 1.


From what Cannon has released in the way of singles and music videos, White People makes clear it is piggybacking on the mainstream success and popularity of electronic dance music (EDM) — in a way some reporters have labeled a troll-like fashion. Since debuting as a rapper, Cannon has enjoyed high-level DJ stints at clubs such as Las Vegas' 1OAK, among others. As a result, he has amassed a fan base that extends outside the circles of people who lovingly call Drumline and Underclassman some of the greatest films of all time.

"I've been DJ'ing all over the world,” Cannon said in an interview last year on the Today Show, with regard to his newest album's name. "I label [my DJ crates] different things. When it’s time to turn the party up, you put on the ‘white people party music.'"

We'll see what happens on April Fool's Day.

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