Full Frontal: Gina Riley ‘wore blackface’ to impersonate Janet Jackson

A video has resurfaced online of Kath & Kim star Gina Riley appearing to wear blackface on the Australian comedy series Full Frontal in 1995.

The 59-year-old actress seemingly darkened her skin with makeup to impersonate pop star Janet Jackson in the footage.

‘When I was a girl I loved to dance, but my brothers hogged the stage in their Lurex pants,’ she sang in the skit.

‘I wanted it to be the Jackson 6 but they wouldn’t let you join unless you had a d**k,’ she continued.

Fast Forward was a sketch comedy show which aired between 1989 to 1992.

It was relaunched as Full Frontal and aired on the Seven Network from 1993 to 1997.

TV comedy in the ’90s was more politically incorrect than these days, and blackface was occasionally used even though it was regarded as racially insensitive at the time.

Gina impersonated many singers on the show besides Janet Jackson, including Madonna, Cher and Sinéad O’Connor.

After launching her career on Fast Forward, Gina went on to famously portray Kim Craig in the beloved sitcom Kath & Kim.

Kath & Kim, which ran on the ABC and Channel Seven from 2002 to 2007, also starred Jane Turner, Glenn Robbins, Magda Szubanski and Peter Rowsthorn.

The series produced two spin-off movies: Da Kath & Kim Code (2005) and Kath and Kimderella (2012).

In September 2018, Magda and Jane spoke about the possibility of a reboot, but admitted it would need to be modernised to reflect the current trends and culture.

‘Never say never,’ Magda told TV Week.

Jane, who co-created the series with Gina, added: ‘It would be very different now.’

‘There are always funny new trends and things Kath and Kim could put their spin on, which would be fun to do.’