The Office Fame Elli Kemper Explains Her Controversial Debutante Ball Picture

Ellie Kemper debutante ball: The Office star finally broke her silence on the racist debutante ball controversy, "I was not aware of this history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse."

The actor issued an apology in an Instagram post for participating and honouring a 1999 debutante ball that had reported connections with white supremacy. "The century-old organization that hosted the debutante ball had an unquestionably racist, sexist, and elitist past," the post read, "I was not aware of this history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse."

She claimed to be old enough to have educated herself before getting involved in the alleged racist ball, hence, holding herself responsible for the event. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star was 19-year-old at the time and was a student at Princeton.

Addressing the criticism that was sparked last week because of a resurfaced article of her victory, she wrote, "There is a very natural temptation, when you become the subject of internet criticism, to tell yourself that your detractors are getting it all wrong."

"But at some point last week I realised, that a lot of the forces behind the criticism are forces that I have spent my life supporting and agreeing with."

Kemper confessed on June 7 that she "unequivocally" deplored, denounced, and rejected white supremacy, however, had benefited "from a system that has dispensed unequal justice and unequal rewards."

More About The Alleged Racist Ball

The said ball has been hosted at St Louis for more than a century. The event is organised by an organisation co-founded in the late 1800s by brothers Alonzo and Charles Slayback, who were both former confederate soldiers.

Reportedly, the ball was originally organized as a response from St. Louis' business elite who were trying to halt growing labour unrest in the city around 1877.

Kemper, being the heiress to one of the wealthiest and influential banking families in the midwest, was honoured as the event's 105th Queen of Love and Beauty.

The founder organisation, Veiled Prophet excluded the participation of Black and Jewish Americans, rooting its name as a racist organisation. The exclusion was not amended until 1979 protests held by Action Committee to Improve Opportunities for Negroes (ACTION).

She concluded the post by apologising for her unaware actions, "I want to apologise to the people I have disappointed and I promise moving forward will listen, continue to educate myself, and use my privilege in support of the better of the society I think we are capable of becoming."