Florida's Secretary of State resigns after discovery of blackface photos

Having served a whopping 16 days in office, Florida's Republican (shocker) Secretary of State Mike Ertel has resigned after the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper obtained photos of Ertel in blackface, dressed as a Hurricane Katrina survivor.

After the Democrat texted the photos to him last week, Ertel, 49, identified himself as the white man in blackface and red lipstick, wearing earrings and a New Orleans Saints bandanna, and falsies under a purple T-shirt that had "Katrina Victim" written on it.

The photos were taken in 2005, less than two months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, killing 1833 people. Governor Ron DeSantis said he accepted Ertel's resignation because "I don't want to get mired in side controversies."

Florida Secretary of State Mike Ertel resigns after Halloween blackface photos emerge (Tallahassee Democrat) (Photo: Wikipedia)