From Crazy Eyes to Sad Face, Julianne Hough Apologizes for 'Disrespectful' Blackface

On Twitter, Julianne Hough debuted her Halloween costume, dressed in blackface as the popular Orange is the New Black character, 'Crazy Eyes', played by Uzo Abuda. After an Internet uproar (really, people are still trying blackface in 2013?) she's now gone back on Twitter to apologize, writing today that "I am a huge fan of the show Orange is the New black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created. It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."

Blackface was a form of theatrical makeup used inminstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. It thankfully fell out of favor by the 1960s.

Hough starred in the star-studded Golden Globe-nominated Burlesque in 2010, and then landed three headline-grabbing female leads in a row: 2011′s Footloose (as Ariel Moore), which has grossed over $60 million worldwide; Adam Shankman's Rock of Ages (as Sherrie Christian), alongside Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Mary J. Blige in 2012; and 2013′s film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' romantic thriller Safe Haven (as Katie Feldman), co-starring with Josh Duhamel. Julianne has also completed production on Diablo Cody's Paradise starring opposite Octavia Spencer, Holly Hunter and Russell Brand, which is due in September 2013. She will also star in Cody's romantic dramedy, Time and a Half. She was named Female Rising Star of 2011 by ShoWest.

Orange is the New Black is the Netflix hit series, from the creator of "Weeds". This heartbreaking and hilarious new series is set in a women's prison. Piper Chapman's wild past comes back to haunt her, resulting in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper trades her comfortable New York life for an orange prison jumpsuit and finds unexpected conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric group of inmates.

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