"Today Show" host Megyn Kelly questioned whether white people dressing in blackface was offensive, asking "what is racist" about the costume and claiming, "back when I was a kid that was OK as long as you were dressing up as a character," during a discussion about inappropriate and offensive Halloween costumes.

Why it matters: Blackface is often offensive because it has been used to perpetuate caricatures and offensive stereotypes of black people for centuries. Later in the discussion Tuesday morning, Kelly discussed the Halloween costume of a character on "Real Housewives of New York" who dressed up as Diana Ross. Kelly explains, "she made her skin look darker than it really is and people said it was racist. And I don't know, I thought who doesn't love Diana Ross? She wanted to look like Diana Ross for one day."