Gov. Kay Ivey Thursday apologized for a blackface skit dating back to her college days. In a 1967 radio interview, Ivey's fellow student and then-fiance -- Ben LaRavia-- described Ivey's performance: "She had on a pair of blue coveralls, she had put some black paint all over her face," LaRavia said. It was part of a skit called "Cigar Butts," in which the performers engaged in comical physical acting, LaRavia said.
The governor responded to the stunning revelation via a recorded video message: "I offer my heartfelt apologies for my participation in something from 52 years ago, that I find deeply regrettable," Ivey said. Ivey says she doesn't remember the skit. "I'm gonna do all I can, going forward, to help show the nation that the Alabama of today, is a far cry from the Alabama of the 1960s. We have come a long way," Ivey said. Some black lawmakers are not ready to let bygones be bygones. Democratic state Reps. John Rogers and Juandalynn Givan called on Ivey to resign. Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam faced similar calls after his medical school yearbook page showed people in blackface and Ku Klux Klan regalia. But Northam refused to step down, and remains in office.