Hulu takes down three Scrubs episodes featuring blackface… days after 30 Rock pulled four episodes off streaming for the same reason
Hulu is pulling three Scrubs episodes featuring blackface from its streaming service.
The platform decided to remove the episodes in question after a push from the show’s creator Bill Lawrence and ABC Studios, according to Variety.
Lawrence confirmed that the episodes were being removed while replying to a tweet from a fan.
Offline: Three episodes of Scrubs are being removed from Hulu for featuring blackface
The fan asked the TV producer if Scrubs would follow NBC sitcom 30 Rock’s lead and yank the offending episodes from the web.
‘Hey,’ they said, tagging Lawrence, Hulu, and ABC.
‘Could we do this with #Scrubs please?’ they asked while retweeting a story about 30 Rock creator Tina Fey and NBCUniversal’s decision.
‘Agreed. Already in the works,’ Cougar Town co-creator Lawrence replied.
The deleted episodes are My Fifteen Seconds (season 3, episode 7), My Jiggly Ball (season 5, episode 4) and My Chopped Liver (season 5, episode 17).
Bad impersonation: In one Zach Braff’s character JD dons blackface pretending to be co-star Donald Faison, who is black
Not OK: Another depicts Sarah Chalke’s Elliot in blackface during a daydream
Making it happen: Lawrence confirmed that the episodes were being removed while replying to a tweet from a fan
In one Zach Braff’s character JD dons blackface pretending to be co-star Donald Faison, who is black. Another depicts Sarah Chalke’s Elliot in blackface during a daydream.
Scrubs ran from 2001 to 2010. The slapstick medical comedy followed a group of young doctors and residents working at the fictional Sacred Heart hospital.
It was just two days ago that 30 Rock announced they would be pulling four episodes for using the racist trope
Fey addressed the episodes’ removal in a letter sent to streaming platforms and obtained by Variety.
Down the memory hole: Four episodes of 30 Rock featuring the use of blackface have been removed from streaming services, digital rental outlets and syndication at the request of Tina Fey, co-creator Robert Carlock and NBCUniversal; pictured in 2018
In one episode of 30 Rock, Jane Krakowski wore blackface to dress as former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann, while her boyfriend (guest star Will Forte) dressed as Natalie Portman in a spoof of her film Black Swan
‘As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation,’ she wrote.
‘I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images. I apologize for pain they have caused.
‘Going forward, no comedy-loving kid needs to stumble on these tropes and be stung by their ugliness. I thank NBCUniversal for honoring this request,’ she concluded.
In addition to disappearing from streaming services and digital rental outlets, the offending episodes will no longer be broadcast on television.
In another episode, regular guest star Jon Hamm blackened his skin in a sketch critiquing the racist television series and radio show Amos ‘n’ Andy