Ellie Kemper Apologizes For Role In Ball With 'Unquestionably' Racist History

Updated September 6, 2021

Last week, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper was the subject of significant fan backlash when it was revealed that she had been crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty in a St. Louis pageant that once centered around a figure called the Veiled Prophet.

Although it may be hard to understand what's so controversial about this out of context, we have previously discussed that this event carries a century-long history of racial discrimination and began as a form of elite propaganda.

And now, Kemper is breaking her silence on the matter with a lengthy apology posted to Instagram.

Back in 1878, a former Confederate soldier convened a group of St. Louis business and political leaders to create the Veiled Prophet organization, which ran a popular ball and parade in the city.

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According to The Atlantic, this event was a response to a long period of railroad worker strikes that saw a great deal of cooperation between Black and white workers.

We discuss it in greater detail here, but the organization behind this event pushed its mythological veiled prophet as a symbol of the benevolent elite that tried to push these leaders' values on the working class.

And even in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the organization was criticized for the racial stereotypes featured in its parade floats and for the fact that it excluded Black and Jewish citizens.

However, it wasn't until 1979 that the long-standing activism against the event influenced the organization, leading them to start allowing people of color to join.

As The Atlantic reported, growing embarrassment over the organization's history among its membership led them to change the event's name to Fair St. Louis in 1992.

According to BuzzFeed News, Kemper would be crowned the pageant's Queen of Love and Beauty — a role historically chosen by the Veiled Prophet — seven years later at the age of 19.

But as she posted in an Instagram statement on June 7, Kemper had no knowledge of the event's long history of elitism and discrimination by the time she accepted her crown.

As she wrote, "The century-old organization that hosted the debutante ball had an unquestionably racist, sexist, and elitist past."

She continued, saying, "I was not aware of this history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse. I was old enough to have educated myself before getting involved."

The full statement can be read here and explores how her initial feelings that her critics were "getting it all wrong," gave way to an acceptance in their concerns about the event.

As she said, "I realized that a lot of the forces behind the criticism are forces that I've spent my life supporting and agreeing with."

She then apologized "to the people I disappointed" and promised to continue listening, educating herself, and using her privilege to help foster a better society.

This statement has attracted messages of love and support from Kemper's former costars on The Office, Bridesmaids, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

This was most notable in the case of actor Tituss Burgess — who played Titus Andromedon — who wrote, "I love my Ellie, Oh, & P.S. Next time, just ask me, I’ll tell ya what to do."

h/t: The Atlantic

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