Polish TV Talent Show Blasted After Performers Don Blackface For Kendrick Lamar And Beyoncé Performances

Talent shows are always rife with potential missteps, and the Polish version of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ was no exception recently when two contestants performed songs by Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé—in Blackface.

The Polish star Kuba Szmajkowski actually won the September 9 episode with his performance of Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” from his 2017 album. He also dropped the N-word in the song. During the same episode, actress Pola Gonciarz put on dark makeup and sang “If I Were a Boy.”

First, the Kendrick Lamar song.

Kuba Szmajkowski jako Kendrick Lamar - Hip-hopowe brzmienie w „Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo”! www.youtube.com

And then the Beyoncé one.

First, some people were shocked by this choice in the year of 2023.

Then came the somewhat inevitable argument about whether or not “Blackface” can have the same cultural connotation in Poland as it does in the USA.

People fired back, pointing out that this is not quite the winning argument people think it is.

In fact, this isn’t even the first time the show has done this.

As this was not the first time the show received backlash for Blackface, it’s hard to imagine they'll stop any time soon