The footage was shown on the broadcast and on the big screens at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, quickly drawing attention online. Fans criticised what they saw, with one clip alone viewed more than 190,000 times, while other posts featuring the fan were watched tens of thousands of times.
“It’s 2026, and there are people who still think this is okay…. Hey @Adelaide_FCyou okay with one of your members in “blackface?” one X user wrote along with a picture of the fan.
“What the f***,” another post showing footage of the fan said.
“I thought I was seeing things, but nope, there it is. There’s a dude in blackface at the footy. In 2026. You’d expect it in 1926 perhaps. Why? Just, why?,” a third wrote.
“Why are we showing the guy in blackface on the screen?,” another said.
After the backlash, the woman explained that the outfit was intended to resemble Claude the Crow. “I just thought it would be more realistic (to paint black on her skin), that’s why I’ve got black gloves as well,” she told The Advertiser after the backlash.
“So I’m dressed like the mascot Claude the crow.
“A lot of people have thought the costume was cool and have asked to get photos with me.”
Images shared online showed both the fan’s full costume and the look that drew criticism.
Some people also defended her, arguing the costume should not be viewed the same way. “This is a stupid costume, but it is not ‘blackface’. She is pretending to be a bird not pretending she is black. Blackface is offensive for very specific reasons. “I want to be a Crow” isn’t one of them,” Mark Gottlieb wrote on X.
Another response was more mixed, saying intent did not erase the issue. “Old mate dressing as a crow clearly didn’t do it with the intention of being offensive but that doesn’t take away the fact we are all old and aware enough to know that blackface in any form is unacceptable,” another said.
