Ralph Northam, the governor of the US state of Virginia, has vowed to remain in office despite widespread calls for his resignation after a racist photo surfaced in his yearbook page from more than 30 years ago.
Northam said that he had prematurely apologised for appearing in a picture of a person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit.
"It is definitely not me," he told reporters on Saturday, contradicting a statement he made a day earlier when he apologised and admitted he was in the photo.
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Northam said that he had consulted with members of his family and classmates since seeing the photo for the first time on Friday and concluded he wasn't in the photo.
Northam called the photo, which appeared in the 1984 yearbook, "shocking and horrific". Northam says he never bought the yearbook.
Northam admitted to making mistakes in the past, including darkening his face when he participated in a dance contest in which he imitated Michael Jackson moonwalking.
Leaders in both parties have repeatedly urged Northam to resign, saying he has lost the public's trust.
Many leading politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had urged the governor to "do the right thing" after the photo emerged.
Pelosi called the photograph "racist and contrary to fundamental American values".
Reuters
