The mayor of a Kansas town issued an apology Thursday for appearing as a drag-queen in blackface last weekend as part of a fundraising event, according to the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Arkansas City Mayor Mel Kuhn participated in and won a drag queen contest held as part of an annual fund raiser sponsored by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an agency that supports foster children in the court system.

Kuhn appeared dressed as a character which he called “Smellishis Poon,” with his face painted dark for the event.

But Kuhn told FOXNews.com that he was not in blackface, but in “tanface,” and did not intend to offend anyone.

“Blackface is shoepolish,” he said. “That’s not what I did. I dressed up to win and because it was so hilarious.”

According to the NAACP, he also had suggestive back-up dancers for the talent portion of his performance, which he called the “Red Hot Puntangs.”

“We danced to black music. The Weather Girls and Aretha Franklin,” Kuhn told FOXNews.com.

Kuhn said he got the idea from the popular movie “Norbit,” a controversial comedy starring Eddie Murphy, which some critics have decried as racist toward African Americans.

While he won the award that night for the “most creative talent,” several local residents found the performance to be insulting and racially offensive, the Arkansas City Traveler reported.

Kuhn initially defended his actions, saying he originally meant to portray an “over-the-top woman,” and that he didn’t care what people thought. [source]