ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said Thursday he was sorry after the New York Times reported he was dressed as Michael Jackson at a college Halloween costume party about two decades ago. had received photos of him with blackface.

The images came as Lawler, a first-term Republican, is embroiled in a hard-fought re-election campaign for his congressional seat in New York’s Hudson Valley.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Lawler described himself as a lifelong Jackson superfan who sought to pay homage to the pop star.

“Eighteen years ago, when I tried to emulate Michael’s legendary dance moves at a college Halloween party, the ugly practice of blackface was the least thing on my mind. Let me be clear that this is not the case,” he said, adding that the costume was intended as a “true tribute to one of my childhood idols.”

“I’m a history major and I’m sorry to anyone who takes offense at the photo,” Lawler said. “All you can do is live and learn, and I appreciate everyone’s grace along the way.”

The times reported that the photo was taken in 2006 when Lawler was 20 years old. In a picture published by the newspaper, Lawler is seen wearing a red jacket and posing with his arm outstretched in one of Jackson’s signature dance moves. He used bronzer to darken his face.

The congressman is a well-documented Jackson supporter.

Last year, The Daily Beast reported on Lawler’s Jackson obsession. The pop icon’s biography “Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story” tells how Lawler flew from New York to California at the age of 18 to attend Jackson’s criminal trial after the musician was charged with child molestation was. In the biographer’s report, Lawler was “so disgusted” by some of the statements that he couldn’t help but mutter something derogatory under his breath and was thrown out of the courtroom.

In his statement Thursday, Lawler said that “one of my fondest memories” was attending a Jackson concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Lawler is in a tough race against Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is Black. Lawler took office in 2022 and has since become a fixture on cable television newscasts.

Blackface minstrel spread in New York City in the 1830s and became popular among whites after the Civil War, although it was considered offensive to blacks from the beginning of its use.

Several politicians and celebrities have been criticized for wearing blackface.