S.C. community outraged by photo of county council candidate in blackface

KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) -- A candidate for the Kershaw County Council is the talk of the town after a controversial photo began circulating on social media.

Concerned citizens in the Kershaw community have mixed reactions of a photo of Brant Tomlinson in blackface which has been shared more than 400 times on Facebook.

WACH FOX reached out to Tomlinson who informed us that the photo was taken during a Halloween party when he was a junior in college.

Tomlinson says he and three other college students dressed up as characters from the movie "Cool Runnings," which is about a Jamaican bobsled team.

He says the photo is being spread across social media by a political opponent and says he has no ill intentions and wishes he would have known how his decision in the past would affect others.

Read his full statement below:

One of my opponents has apparently paid an antagonist to distribute a photograph in an effort to misrepresent my reputation.

If it is the photo that has been shown to me, it was taken during my junior year in college in 2008 at a Halloween party where we were dressed as the Jamaican Bobsled Team from the popular movie and one of my all-time favorite movies - Cool Runnings.

It is unfortunate that local candidates have now resorted to the same type of toxic smear campaigns that have infected the political discourse at state and national level. We will continue to focus on issues that address how we can provide a brighter future for families across Kershaw County.

Tomlinson is running for a seat in Kershaw County District Five.